San Diego Injury Lawyer Blog

San Diego's Mission Bay had a deadly even this week when lifeguards and divers found the body of a 28-year-old La Jolla man in the bay on August 9, 2009, over 12 hours after he dove off the Bahia Belle cruise ship with two friends. He did not make it to shore and drowned.

Sean Rae and his friends jumped off of the tour boar during the night time cruise around 12:35 a.m. in the early morning of August 9, according to San Diego Lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum. The San Diego Police Department released dive teams and joined with the Port of San Diego to search, along with a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, and even with lifeguards from the North County, to all search the waters. Before the body was found, Lerum was worried the area would be too large to search and successfully locate the body.

The Bahia Belle is a mock paddlewheel restaurant-bar cruise boat based at the Bahia Resort, which regularly cruises Mission Bay. Rae lived in La Jolla with his girlfriend.

If you or anyone you know has ever been injured or killed in a San Diego boating accident, please contact San Diego personal injury attorney Ross Jurewitz and the lawyers at the Jurewitz Law Group at (619) 233-5020. You may also contact these San Diego boating accident lawyers online here.

An elderly man cycling in San Diego County died last week while out on his ride. His identity had not yet been released, but he was known to have been riding his bicycle south along North Torrey Pines Road when he died, and had apparently experienced a medical problem, which was to blame for his death, according to San Diego Police Department officers who reported on the matter.

Police had received a call around 10:45 a.m. the day of the accident last week about a solo bicycle accident along North Torrey Pines Road just north of Callan Road, and found the man alone and on the pavement when they arrived. The official cause of death is still pending an autopsy to be conducted by the Medical Examiner's Office.

If you or anyone you know has ever been injured or killed in a San Diego bicycle accident, please contact San Diego personal injury attorney Ross Jurewitz and the San Diego injury attorneys at the Jurewitz Law Group at (619) 233-5020. You may also contact these San Diego accident attorneys online here.

An Escondido man, 33, and his 11-year-old daughter were seriously injured on July 27, 2009, in San Diego's Mission Bay when their private watercraft (PWC) crashed.

The father and daughter had been on the same watercraft when it was struck by another vessel around 10:45 a.m. near Ski Beach along Fiesta Island, according to Lt. Andy Lerum. The driver of the other water vessel had no reported injuries. Both father and daughter were taken to nearby San Diego hospitals, while San Diego police were still investigating the boat crash. You can read more about this SignOnSanDiego.com story.

Continue reading "San Diego Bay Boat Crash Injures Father and Daughter" »

The Daily Point of Orange County reported last Thursday, March 12 that the California State Senate is reviewing a new bill that would allow California and San Diego authorities to treat boating under the influence in our San Diego waters just like they would treat driving under the influence on our San Diego roads. If passed, the bill would allow San Diego and California authorities to suspend boaters' licenses if caught boating under the influence. You can learn more in this Daily Pilot story.

The California BUI bill was introduced by California State Senator John Benoit that represents Senate District 37, just north of San Diego County. Senator Benoit's bill will give the DMV the power to treat a BUI just as they would treat a DUI. Previously, the DMV had the power to do just that but last year, a court of appeals verdict deemed that they did not have the power to do so.

San Diego harbor officials and officials in other California counties would like to see the bill passed. They believe that even though boating is a recreational activity, there are still many responsibilities that a boater has. According to the California Department of Boating and Waterways there were 55 boating accident fatalities in 2007, half of which happened in Southern California. Also, about 20 of the 55 victims were intoxicated.

If you or a fellow boater are ever injured or killed in a San Diego boating accident, please call the San Diego boat accident attorneys at the Jurewitz Law Group at 619-233-5020 or contact them online here.

It's that time of year again. Spring is coming and the weather is starting to get warmer. That means more time at the ocean, on the water, or in Mission Bay enjoying San Diego's boating experience. We are truly blessed in San Diego to enjoy some of the best outdoor boating recreational areas in which to spend a day on a motorboat, driving a jet-ski, or sailing a sailboat.

Unfortunately, many disregard their safety and the safety of others while trying to enjoy a day boating on the water. As a result, San Diego experiences a large number of fatal boating accidents. Most of these accidents cold have been avoided.

To help prevent careless accidents, try following these tips:

1. Take a boating safety course

2. Ensure that everyone on the boat is seated securely while the boat is moving

3. Check the weather and ocean reports before going boating

4. If you operating the boat, please do not consume alcohol. Drinking while boating is just as dangerous as drinking while driving.

Saturday morning, Lauren Taguchi, 17, of Northridge was killed when her jet-ski collided with another personal watercraft on the Colorado River in Riverside County.

Ms. Taguchi died after her jet-ski struck the other personal water craft head on. The other operator, Ricky Scott Ledford of Las Vegas, helped Ms. Taguchi to a boat ramp where first responders performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. She was taken to Palo Verde Hospital where she later died of her injuries.

Jet-ski accidents are unfortunately fairly common and typically very serious. California has yet to require operators to obtain licenses to operate jet-skis and, although it is unknown whether inexperience was a factor in this case, the number one cause of jet-ski accidents is operator error due to inexperience.

Our prayers go out to Ms. Taguchi's family and we hope that the California legislature looks to this case as yet another example of why jet-ski operating licensing is necessary.

San Diego is a boaters and waterman's paradise. From open ocean sailing to jet-skiing and water-skiing in Mission Bay, San Diegans take to the water when the weather gets warmer.

Not surprisingly then that boating accidents increase at this time of year. Also not surprising is that San Diego is home to two of the most dangerous bodies of water in California for boating accidents (San Diego Harbor and Mission Bay). In a five-year study performed by the California Department of Boating and Waterways, San Diego Harbor and Mission Bay were the third and fourth most dangerous "Coastal Water" area and were both within the top 10 most dangerous bodies of water overall within the State.

In addition, the Department also publishes an annual Boating Safety Report which includes accident data. What we know from these reports is that the vast majority of the accidents involve PWCs (jet-skis, etc.) and open-cockpit motorboats (water-ski boats, etc.). In addition, the majority those involved in these accidents is under 30 years of age. Last the accidents are almost always caused by three factors: excessive speed, operator inattentiveness, and operator inexperience.

If you're going to go out and enjoy San Diego's waters, be sure that you and everyone on your vessel is safe. Look out for other vessels, particularly those operated by young, inexperienced operators and give them wide berth. Avoid areas where these types of operators congregate (De Anza Cove, etc.). Last, make sure that you have insurance (both health and liability) in place to address any type of emergency.

Safe boating.