Brain Injuries From Jet Skis

Referred to by many safety experts as “motorcycles on water,” jet skis pose many of the same safety issues that confront motorcycle enthusiasts. The most common link between jet skis and a motorcycle is the issue of helmet use. Despite national publicity campaigns, many states still do not have any motorcycle helmet laws on the books. Even fewer states require the operators of jet skis to wear helmets when they are out on the open water.

No helmet can mean a serious head injury if you become involved in a jet ski accident.

Brain injuries from jet skis range from mild concussions to severe brain trauma. The faster you operate a jet ski, the more serious a brain injury will be after an accident.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) released a report in 2017 that named jet skis the second most common water vessel involved in an accident. If you suffer brain injuries from jet skis, contact one of the personal injury attorneys at Morgan & Morgan to file an insurance claim and if there was negligence involved, file a civil lawsuit against the party that caused your brain injuries.

What Are the Common Causes of Jet Ski Accidents

Jet skis have emerged as one of the most popular watercraft used for recreational purposes. However, with popularity comes a rise in the number of jet ski accidents in the United States. What are the common causes of brain injuries from jet skis?

We have three culprits.

Recklessness

For some reason, hopping on a jet ski makes some people feel invincible. What happens is the feeling of invincibility leads to operators making careless maneuvers on the open water. One dangerous maneuver involves turning jet skis in a narrow circle. This can cause an operator to lose control of the water vessel and ram into a moving or stationary object.

Excessive speed is another example of recklessness while operating jet skis. Many states, especially those that border oceans or the Great Lakes, have established speed limits for different types of watercraft. Excessive speed becomes an especially dangerous problem for operators of jet skis that move about in crowded areas of a lake or ocean.

Driving Under the Influence

You can make the point that driving under the influence is a sign of recklessness, and you would be correct. Nonetheless, intoxication is considered a separate cause because the carnage left behind after a jet ski accident is typically much worse than it is for other types of collisions. Alcohol and operating a recreational water vessel seem to go hand-in-hand, but like operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, the same dangers lurk around every cove and out in the great wide open. Impaired judgment and motor control combine to create a potentially deadly recipe.

Operator Inexperience

Operator inexperience is one of the leading causes of brain injuries from jet skis. Renting a jet ski requires nothing more than an ID and a deposit to secure a time slot. You do not need experience or proof that you have passed a jet ski safety course. Lack of experience can lead to an operator making dangerous maneuvers and not even knowing that the maneuvers place other people at risk.
The USCG report about water vessel safety states that operator inexperience is the second most common cause of jet ski accidents.

What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?

A mild traumatic brain injury such as a mild concussion negatively affects your brain cells for a short period. Serious brain trauma can result in bruising that causes long-term damage. The worst traumatic brain injuries can cause death.

Diagnosis

Your physician or emergency healthcare providers analyze the symptoms of a brain injury by referring to the Glasgow Coma Scale. Patients receive a rating between three and 15, with three representing the worst symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. Patients undergo a series of imaging tests, such as an MRI and/or a CT scan, to detect damage to the brain.

Symptoms

A traumatic brain injury can produce a wide variety of severe physical and psychological symptoms. One of the most common symptoms of traumatic brain injuries from jet skis is an intense headache that comes close to matching the pain that patients feel for a migraine headache.

If you suffer from a severe brain injury, you might experience one or more of the following symptoms:

•       Constant vomiting
•       Chronic fatigue
•       Slurred speech
•       Loss of balance and mobility
•       Fall into a state of unconsciousness
•       Severely blurred vision
•       Prolonged memory loss
•       Dramatic mood changes
•       Acute depression
•       Sleeping much more than normal

What Is the Process for a Jet Ski Accident Case?

If you were involved in an accident with an operator of a jet ski, you should follow the following steps to file a convincing claim that covers your brain injuries for jet skis.

Seek Medical Care

The seriousness of your brain injury will require you to seek immediate medical care. You probably won’t be able to call 911, which means someone at the accident scene must do it for you. Having the symptoms of your brain injury diagnosed and treated as soon as possible is your only priority at this point.

Law Enforcement Investigation

While you have your brain injury diagnosed and treated, a team of law enforcement personnel will conduct a thorough investigation of the accident scene. You should eventually receive a copy of the official police report that contains the evidence collected by law enforcement. While you recover from your brain injury, your personal injury attorney will organize the evidence for presentation to the other party’s insurance company and possibly to a civil court judge.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation

When you feel up to it, reach out to an experienced team of personal injury lawyers like the ones at Morgan & Morgan to schedule a free case evaluation. This step allows an attorney or team of attorneys to determine how to proceed with your case. The meeting also gives you insight into the professional skills of the lawyers sitting across from you.

File an Insurance Claim

If you cannot do it, your lawyer will contact a claims adjuster at your insurance company to start the claim filing process. Your attorney will want you to recover the full cost of your medical bills, as well as the expenses that pile up because of property damage. Brain injuries from jet skis can force you out of work for weeks, if not months on end. You deserve to make up the lost income with the settlement of your insurance claim.

Your Attorney’s Investigation

After you hire Morgan & Morgan to handle your claim and possibly civil lawsuit, we will conduct an extensive investigation that determines liability. Proving liability is the heart of a civil case because it can demonstrate the other party acted negligently. We closely monitor your progress, as a prognosis present by your doctor can give us an idea about the cost of future medical bills. A traumatic brain injury typically requires participation in a long-term rehabilitation program.

Demand for Settlement

After your medical condition stabilizes, we will submit a demand for settlement to the insurance company. The insurance company should make an offer that we counter to start the negotiation process. Negotiations can take a few days or even weeks until we settle with the insurance company.

Filing of a Civil Lawsuit

One of our focuses when investigating your case is to determine if there is enough evidence to sue the other party for negligence. If we find that you have a strong enough case, we will take care of the paperwork required to file a civil lawsuit. Then, the personal injury team at Morgan & Morgan prepares for trial.

Work with Morgan & Morgan

Suffering brain injuries from jet skis can set you back thousands of dollars in medical bills. Add to that huge expense the loss of income and you are looking at a bleak financial picture.

Contact Morgan & Morgan today to get the compensation you deserve because of a brain injury caused by a jet ski accident.