Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

A Palatine, Illinois woman who sustained serious injuries when the boat she was a passenger in capsized on August 15 is suing two boat operators for her Illinois personal injuries.

Brenda Schmid was thrown into the water and pinned underwater and trapped in the mud after two boats collided with one another. Fortunately, she was rescued, resuscitated, and flown to a Park Ridge hospital.

Authorities later found out that Mark Holmquest, the operator of the boat Schmid was a passenger in, and David Caplan, the operator of the other vessel involved in the collision, were intoxicated at the time of the Lake County, Illinois boat accident. Both men were charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Schmid’s Illinois boating accident lawsuit names the two men among the defendants.

2008 Recreational Boating Statistics (US Coast Guard):

• Alcohol was the #1 leading contributing factor in deadly boating accidents.
• There were 4,789 recreational boating accidents.
• 709 boating fatalities occurred.
• Drowning was a factor in 2/3rds of these deaths.
• 3,331 people sustained boating accident injuries.
• Five common causes of boating accidents included operator inattention, reckless/careless boat operation, boat operator inexperience, failure keep a proper lookout, and passenger behavior.
• Personal watercrafts, motorboats, and cabin motorboats were the most common kinds of boats involved in recreational boating accidents.

It is the responsibility of a watercraft owner and/or operator to protect passengers from injuries, as well as exercise the proper safety measures so that swimmers, water skiers, and people riding on other boats don’t get hurt. This means making sure that the person operating the boat has been trained properly, knows how to safely navigate a boat, and does not engage in negligent driving behavior (including drunk driving).

2008 Recreational Boating Accident Statistics, US Coast Guard (PDF)

Woman sues after drunk boat driver crashes, Chicago Sun-Times, September 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Lakes in Illinois

Boat Accidents Overview, Justia

In Illinois, two people are dead following two Chicago boating accidents that occurred within one hour of each other on Sunday. A third person was injured.

The first Chicago boating accident occurred on Lake Michigan close to DuSable Harbor when two people fell overboard. According to witnesses, the two people fell off the boat as they tried to get an item that fell into the water. Jennifer Carlson and Dennis O’Leary were able to retrieve one boater. The second boater, however, went under.

The Chicago Fire Department and the US Coast Guard eventually were able to locate 52-year-old Michael Vergauwen. He was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

The second boating accident took place on the Little Calumet River at 127th and South Michigan. 62-year-old Ronald Johnson died after a boat capsized and he and the other boater were thrown overboard. The Coast Guard said they stopped looking for the second man in the afternoon. Both men weren’t wearing life vests.

Common kinds of boating accidents:
• Boating collisions
• Falls overboard
• Capsized boats
• Boats that are lost at sea
• Fires on boats
• Sunken boats
• Boat explosions

Common causes of boating accidents:
• Inexperienced boat passengers
• Inexperienced boat operators
• Boating under the influence

Drowning injuries continue to be a common kind of boating injury. Even strong swimmers are susceptible to drowning if they are knocked unconscious or end up in rough or perilous waters.

There may be someone that can be held liable for your Chicago boating accident injuries or your loved one’s death.

Boating accidents in Monroe Harbor, Little Calumet River claim 2; 1 missing, Chicago Tribune, June 29, 2009

2 dead in boating accidents, ABC 7 News, June 29, 2009

Continue reading "Two People Drown in Two Chicago Boating Accidents " »

In Cook County Circuit Court, the mother of Melvin Choice, one of the three North Lawndale College Prep students who drowned in a boating accident while attending Camp Algonquin earlier this month, has filed her Illinois wrongful death lawsuit. Virginia Choice is accusing Visionquest International, North Lawndale College Prep, and the YMCA of McHenry County of negligence.

Choice, Adrian Jones, and Jimmie Avant were staying at the camp because they were attending a leadership seminar with fellow students. The deadly boating accident happened after midnight on November 14 on the Fox River after the teens' chaperones and supervisors had turned in for the night.

Two of the boys drowned after the paddleboat they were riding in capsized, while the third teen drowned after he ran into the water to try rescuing them. The boat sank because it was missing the plug that stops water from entering it.

The camp’s boats had been winterized but hadn’t been put away. However, Paul Murray of the YMCA of McHenry County says the paddleboats had been stored “far away from the water’s edge” and that because of their heavy weight, a great deal of effort would have been required to get the boats into the water.

On the night of the boating accident, six of the camp’s seven winterized paddleboats were placed in the water by several of the students. There were no life vests on the boats.

The water in the area where the teens drowned was 42 degrees and about 8- to 10-feet deep when the accident happened. Even the rescue divers who went into the water to retrieve the boys’ bodies had a hard time navigating the cold, the current, and the debris.

Choice’s Illinois wrongful death lawsuit also accuses the three defendants of failing to keep the paddleboats in proper condition and failure to properly supervise her son. She is seeking over $800,000 in damages.

Common Causes of Drowning Accidents that Can Be Grounds for an Illinois Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Lawsuit:

• Inadequately supervised lakes, pools, beaches, and other recreational areas
• Defective watercrafts
• Fall accidents into the water

Mother of CPS student who died in boat accident sues, Sun-Times, November 19, 2008

Late-night fun turns deadly on Fox River, The Geneva Sun, November 15, 2008

Related Web Resources:

YMCA of McHenry County

North Lawndale College Prep

Visionquest International

The paddleboat that two of the three Chicago teens who drowned were riding in on the Fox River early this morning was missing its bottom plug. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the plugs on all of the paddleboats used by students who were attempting to get on the river last night were removed because the vessels were taken out of service for the winter. However, no one stored away the boats, which remained on the ground.

The victims, 18-year-old Jimmie Avant, 16-year-old Adrian Jones, and 17-year-old Melvin Choice III, were students at North Lawndale College Prep. They were attending an eight-day leadership retreat at Camp Algonquin.

Some 31 students participated in the retreat at the YMCA camp, along with four adult supervisors from the charter high school. The camp participants were all reportedly told to stay away from the water.

According to police, a number of teenagers took six paddleboats onto the river. One boat sank immediately, taking Jones and Avant down with it. Choice, who was on the shore and ran into the water to save the two boys, also drowned.

The drowning accident occurred at around 1:30am while the chaperones were likely sleeping. It took recovery workers a number of hours to retrieve the three bodies, because water conditions were unsafe. The bodies were recovered by 11am.

Premises Liability
Premise owners are supposed to ensure that there are no unsafe conditions on a premise that can cause serious injuries or death. Failure to exercise this duty of care may be grounds for an Illinois personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against the property owner and/or the supervisor on the premise.

2007 Boating Accident Statistics

• According to the US Coast Guard, there were 685 boating fatalities last year.
• Over 2/3rds of these victims died in drowning accidents.
• 90% of these drowning accident victims were not wearing life jackets.
• Out of every 4 boaters that drowned, 3 of them were riding in boats that were less than 21 feet long.

3 Chicago teens drown in Fox River, Chicago Tribune, November 14, 2008

Bodies pulled from Fox, teen victims identified, The Geneva Sun, November 14, 2008

Recreational Boating Statistics, US Coast Guard

Related Web Resources:

YMCA Camp Algonquin

North Lawndale College Prep

Continue reading "Three Chicago Teens Drown in Illinois Boating Accident on the Fox River" »