You must submit a written accident report if damage to property exceeds how much

What to do if you're involved in a boating accident

If you are involved in a collision or accident, as the vessel operator you must:

• Stop the vessel at the scene.
• Render assistance to anyone injured or in danger, provided you can do so without endangering your own vessel, crew and passengers.
  • Anyone who renders assistance at the scene of an accident involving a vessel is not liable in a civil action for damages or injury from any act or omission in rendering assistance, except for willful or wanton misconduct.
• Give the operator's name and address and the boat owner's name and address and registration number to any person injured, or to the operator, owner, or attendant of any vessel damaged, or to a law enforcement officer.
• Report the incident, if necessary.

How to report a boating accident

The vessel operator must file a full report in the following cases. If the operator is incapacitated, an officer shall file the form.

• Loss of life or disappearance of an occupant,
• Injury requiring medical treatment beyond first aid,
• Damage to property in excess of $500, or
• Complete loss of a vessel.

To obtain a copy of the Boating Accident Report Form:

• Download it [pdf 731Kb]
• Contact a Watercraft Office.
• Call 1-877-4BOATER (Ohio only)

Violations of watercraft law that result in injury to persons or damage to property shall constitute prima facie evidence of negligence in a civil action.

You may have just had a boating accident with your boat, and maybe nobody noticed. Only your boat sustained damage, so you want to just load up and go home and fix your boat. If you do that, you may be committing a crime in your state.

If you have a boating accident in any state, you will most likely have to report it to local, state, and US Coast Guard authorities. However, in most states, you will be required to fill out and file a report to one local authority, who in-turn files reports with the other required authorities.

In some states a boat operator will be required to report their boating accident, no matter the circumstances. In other states they adopt Federal law for reporting boating accidents, which is set and controlled by the United States Coast Guard. Read on to find out what your choice boating states require in case of an accident.

Federal Boat Accident Reporting Requirements

Here is the USCG accident reporting requirements right from the source:

          Federal law requires the operator or owner of a recreational vessel to file a boating accident report with the State reporting authority if the recreational vessel is involved in an accident that results in any of the following:

• A person dies
• A person is injured and requires medical treatment beyond first aid
• A person disappears from the vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury
• Damage to vessels and other property totals $2,000 (lower amounts in some states and territories).
• The boat is destroyed.

 

          Report Timelines:

Within 48 hours if a person:

• dies within 24 hours
• is injured and requires medical treatment beyond first aid
• or disappears from the vessel under circumstances that indicate death or injury.

Within 10 days of the occurrence or death if earlier reporting is not required.

If you would like to see what is required to fill out a USCG accident report, you can click here and go to their website forms page.

Who Do You Contact To Report A Boating Accident

Depending on where you are boating, you may need to contact your state DNR (Department of Natural Resources), the local police marine department, or the county sheriff department. However you reach out for help or reporting, they will either send a water patrol unit to you, or relay your position and information to the proper authority.

No matter what, DO NOT LEAVE THE SCENE OF A BOATING ACCIDENT you are involved in.

You are required by law to provide assistance to anyone hurt or in danger that is involved in a boating accident. You are required to provide this help as long as you do not put yourself, your passengers, or your watercraft in danger to do so.

State By State Boat Accident Reporting Requirements

While there are a host of other scenarios that would cause a boat operator who had an accident to have to report it to the authorities, the determining factor based on the minimum monetary damage value ranges from $0 to $2,000.

I have created the most thorough “state by state” table showing each state’s mandatory accident reporting laws available. It shows the law for each state and the contact information to verify, get forms, and report.

Use this guide as a GUIDE, and as a way to access the information right from the authority’s source. There will never be a better source for the individual states information, than going direct to them. However, some states have really bad websites and it is a major chore to find information on them. That is why I created this 50 state guide.

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