Toll-Free: 888.472.1440
Phone: 713.224.7800
Interested in working with us? Call us Toll Free at 888.472.1440 or fill out this quick form and we will contact you within 24 hours!
On July 18, a 35-foot Kiwi sailboat overturned in Lake Michigan, during a highly competitive boat race from Chicago to Mackinac Island, killing the skipper and a crew member.
After an 11-week investigation into the disaster, a county sheriff and his team "found that the crew acted properly and no one is at fault in the accident" and instead blamed the boat itself for being "too big for its weight."
The official report, published by U.S. Sailing, suggested the boat's "sail area was too large for its construction under the conditions." A spokesperson for the Chicago Yacht Club, which organized the race, lambasted the Wingnuts boat for being "highly inappropriate...for a race of this duration, overnight, without safety boats, and in an area known to have frequent violent thunderstorms...the fact that she had too little stability...led to her being blown over by a severe gust."
51-year old Captain Mark Morley and 41-year old crew member Suzanne Makowski-Bickel died when head injuries prevented them from saving themselves after they were tossed into the water. Fortunately for the rest of the crew, a nearby vessel, the Sociable, rescued the survivors and helped to coordinate the search and rescue effort.
In this case, the crew was exonerated of any carelessness, negligence, or other wrongdoing, and investigators concluded that the problem stemmed from a mismatch between the boat's structural capabilities and the harsh environment on the lake. Often times, however, boat accident investigators have far fewer clues to assess cause and effect. Imagine, for instance, if the Sociable had failed to reach the craft in time to rescue any survivors. Alternatively, imagine if no documentation existed to help investigators piece together the mission and circumstances of the Wingnut's expedition. In this case, investigators had much information and even firsthand-witness accounts to help understand what went wrong and who might have been at fault.
In other cases, the situation may be far more ambiguous, and victims may have a difficult time pinning the problem on a particular person's failure, defect in the ship, or other fault.
For all those reasons and more, it may help you to discuss your potential maritime accident case with the experienced team at Vujasinovic & Beckcom. Learn more at www.maritimeaccidentattorney.com or call (888) 724-7800 now.
Read More About Official Explanation for Great Lakes Boat Accident: An Unstable Sailboat...
