Spending a day on Lake Michigan should be a fun way for you and your friends to relax and enjoy nature’s beauty. For those who don’t have a boat, renting one is a way that they can take advantage of time on the water. Sadly, those boats aren’t always maintained properly. As a recent case filed in the Cook County Circuit Court shows, an improperly maintained boat can lead to serious injuries or death if the lack of maintenance causes an accident.
The case has to do with SailTime of Chicago, a company that rented four friends a motorboat to travel from Michigan to Chicago via Lake Michigan. While the four adults were traveling on the water, the motor on the boat began to smoke. It then caught on fire. The motorboat capsized. One person out of the four passengers survived the fatal accident.
The man who survived has sued the company citing negligence in properly maintaining the boat. The complaint says that three days prior to the group of four taking the boat onto the lake, there was an electrical or battery problem. The defendant said the problem was fixed, but if that was the case, the boat likely wouldn’t have caught on fire.
In this case, the man who survived has opted to file a lawsuit against the company that owned the boat. He is asking that his costs be taken care of and that he be awarded damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits.
Seeking compensation is an option for anyone who has been injured in an accident caused by the negligence of another person. Compensation can help to cover medical bills and other expenses related to the accident.
Source: The Cook County Record, “Man sues SailTime Chicago over alleged fire on motorboat” Matt Russell, Jul. 16, 2014