A diver was hit by a boat Wednesday morning in the Florida Keys following an advisory by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission earlier this week urging boaters to watch out for divers-down flags.
The man was struck around 8 a.m. off of Big Coppitt Key in the Lower Keys while diving for lobster, officials told reporters with The Miami Herald. He was helicoptered out with life-threatening injuries and taken to a hospital in Miami-Dade County.
Wednesday was the start of the lobster miniseason which lasts through to Thursday allowing six lobsters to be taken per diver in Monroe County. Regular lobster season begins August 6 until March 31.
Additional details surrounding this incident were not immediately available Thursday.
A Slew of Incidents on Florida Waters
At around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, four people were rescued by the local sheriff’s office from a sinking boat. No injuries were reported in that incident. Earlier this week near Orlando, a woman was killed after she went overboard and was hit by the boat’s propellers. A man died following a crash last week involving a jet ski and a 42-foot boat near the Broad Causeway in Bay Harbor Islands. Earlier this month, three separate back-to-back incidents over the Fourth of July holiday weekend resulted in at least eight injuries and one death
Data collected by the FWC in its annual boating incident reports for 2023 showed that July is when most crashes and water incidents occur in a state that leads the nation with over a million registered vessels. There were 659 reportable accidents on state waters for 2023 with the majority of these incidents happening in Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties. Monroe County took the lead on fatal incidents and crashes with injuries with 87 total accidents, three of which were fatal and 62 resulted in injuries.
Leesfield & Partners
These tragic incidents have prompted Leesfield & Partners to issue warnings and boating safety advisories several times over the summer, a season that sees thousands of tourists and locals flocking to areas such as Naples, the Florida Keys, Bay County beaches, Miami Beach and Key Biscayne to take advantage of the beautiful weather. With an increase of people in the area who may or may not have experience on the water comes an increase for potential injuries. Three men in their mid-20s drowned at a northern Florida beach after they were caught up in a rip current. The men’s deaths were some of several in the span of just a few days due to rip currents in that area.
With offices in Orlando, Miami and Key West, Leesfield & Partners attorneys have built up invaluable experience representing clients in personal injury practice areas such as boating accidents, jet ski crashes, negligence and wrongful deaths on the water. Our lawyers approach each case with kindness and sympathy for injured clients and their grieving families, helping guide them through the legal system while also aggressively and vigorously aiming to reach the best possible outcome for clients. The firm was seen thousands of avoidable injuries and death on the water due to the negligence of other boaters, personal watercraft rental companies and governmental entities.
The family of one woman represented by the firm was awarded an over $2 million settlement amount after her wrongful death on a rented jet ski. A man visiting the state from California with his family was severely injured after he crashed into a concrete bridge piling following the negligence and recklessness of two jet ski tour guides who left the family behind and failed to warn them about dangerous water conditions in the area.
Another case handled by the firm involved a diver whose flags were set out to alert boaters in the area to his presence. The man was struck by a boater in middle school who should never have been driving the vessel and was known to have driven dangerously in the past. The teen boater did not stop after he hit the diver. The man died from his injuries. Leesfield & Partners attorneys were able to secure a $1.7 million award for the deceased man’s family.
If you were injured on the water in Florida, call Leesfield & Partners at 800-836-6400 today for a free consultation.