Boating Accidents in Pennsylvania: Reporting Duties and Alcohol on the Water

Reporting duties

Pennsylvania requires operators to render assistance and to report accidents involving injury requiring more than first aid, death, disappearance, or property damage above a threshold. Failure to report is itself a violation and is evidence in a civil claim.

The Fish and Boat Commission investigates, and its report is the starting point for a claim in the same way a police report is on the road.

Alcohol on the water

Boating under the influence is a recurring factor and Pennsylvania prohibits it, with the added complication that sun, wind, noise and motion accelerate impairment relative to the same consumption on land.

Where a rental operator or a marina served alcohol or rented to an obviously impaired operator, that adds a defendant with better coverage than an individual usually has.

Where the coverage comes from

• A dedicated watercraft policy, which many owners carry.
• A homeowner policy, which sometimes extends to smaller boats, though with limits and exclusions.
• A rental company or marina policy, where the vessel was hired.
• A commercial policy, for charter and tour operations.
• An engine or component manufacturer, in defect cases.

Because ownership and operation are frequently split, identifying every policy matters more here than in a road crash.

Passengers and guests

Most people injured on boats are passengers, and liability is usually straightforward. Operators owe a duty of reasonable care to those aboard, including for speed, wake, overloading, weather judgment and the provision of appropriate lifejackets.

When maritime law applies instead

Incidents on navigable waters can attract federal maritime jurisdiction, which brings different rules and different limitation periods. On the Delaware River in particular that question arises frequently, and it should be asked early rather than after a state deadline has been assumed.

Preserve the vessel

Photograph the boat, the damage, the equipment aboard including lifejackets, and the conditions. Where a mechanical failure is suspected, the vessel should not be repaired before it is examined.