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Old 23-01-2017, 10:35   #1
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Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

I have been unable to find this out so asking the forum. This involves an accident we were in - due to potential litigation I can not give all details but I am asking - What is a Charter Captain's Duty when he hits a docked boat?

We were docked. A Charter Captain - with Charter aboard hit us in the stern damaging the swim platform so that it is no longer usable. He said "I will take care of all this just let me handle my charter, which being nice and neighbors we allowed him the time to do. But he never reported the accident to the marina or police and then we fought for 6 months to get his insurance info despite having provided an estimate.

He says it is up to our insurance agent to do all the work. We didn't file as we were clearly not at fault (we have plenty of reliable witnesses including dockmaster at the marina).

So back to the question - as a Captain what was his legal responsibiliy?
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Old 23-01-2017, 10:54   #2
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Hi Countryhomelove. Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear about your problem.

Before offering my, non-legal, non-binding opinion if I may say, you should think that you are asking for legal advise on a forum consisting of boaters. True there are a few lawyers here but my experience, even speaking directly to a lawyer in a formal, office setting, it's difficult to get an unqualified opinion on a matter like this.

All that being said, in my opinion and experience (NOTE, I am not a lawyer but have had to deal with similar situations), the captain and/or his employer are liable for the damage he/she caused. BUT, getting compensated for the damage will depend a LOT on many details.

- Where were you when this occurred? If in a foreign country and the captain a local (citizen or just resident) then the odds of getting paid are slim.
- Too late now, but you, not the other guy, should have made a report to the authorities immediately with documentation including date/time/location, photos of the damages, witness names, etc. If you haven't already done this then do so immediately.
- If no help from the captain, have you contacted the charter company?
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Old 23-01-2017, 11:19   #3
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

did you report the incident to the marina when it happened ?? or did you trust the other guy? did you get his name and boat name?
oops
go to the marina and see what your options are. if not previously reported with pix, you are prolly out your deposit.
good luck
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Old 23-01-2017, 11:44   #4
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Assuming this occurred in US waters you and he were legally obligated to report the accident if the damage exceeds $2,000 (see 46 USC II.D.61.6101 Marine Casulty Reporting). You were supposed to do this within five days of the accident, as was he.

You are also supposed to report to your insurance company immediately, or as soon as reasonable, when you might have a claim, or claims made against you. So while he may be at fault, you have also failed to uphold your legal and contractual obligations.


At this point all I can recommend would be to contact an attorney and follow his advice on this. If it was me I would skip that and just make the report now, contact my insurance company and be done with it.

Alternatively since he is a comercial captain let him know if you don't get a settlement within 15 days you will be reporting it to the USCG and he can deal with the effects on his license.
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Old 23-01-2017, 12:15   #5
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Not an answer for the OP, but if you are involved in any sort of accident report it to your insurance company and to any appropriate authorities. Do NOT just expect the other guy to take care of that sort of thing!
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Old 23-01-2017, 12:15   #6
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

you described foreign waters , in which your priorities are contacting port captain and marina dockmaster(in some places this individual is harbormaster). donot forget charter company of each boat, as appropriate. .
you must have name of offending boat, and hopefully captain's/skipper's name. time and date of incident and weather and visibility conditions. exact locations and description of each boats behaviors. you will need pix with circles andarrows and a paragraph on the back.

after these authorities, then you contact the appropriate insurance companies with the exact same informations..

i helped a friend with his got hit reports and claims.
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Old 23-01-2017, 15:18   #7
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Your insurance company will handle the negotiations with the other guys insurance, if he had any. That is if you had uninsured coverage on your policy. Just had my liability only coverage car rear ended. Called my insurance company and they very politely said they would be glad to negotiate with the offending party's insurance company and get restitution if I had uninsured coverage. Since I didn't have the coverage they wished me luck.

A relative was driving the car at the time and didn't report the accident to the police, get the other drivers license information, or information on the car. The driver that hit her was very apologetic, said he would take care of the repairs and not to report it to the police or insurance. Fortunately she got his insurance information as he went non communicado when we tried to contact him after the accident. Reported the accident to our insurance and then went direct to his insurance company when ours rightfully said they weren't responsible. We soon got a letter back from his insurance saying they were not responsible because our driver had backed into him. We had a he said, she said situation and they were taking their insured's side. Thought we were SOL on the estimated $3,000 repair. Fortunately we found a witness who corroborated our drivers version of the accident. His insurance company immediately changed their mind and paid for our repairs. Without the police being involved and our luckily finding a witness, we would have been up the creek. ALWAYS GET THE AUTHORITIES AND THE OPPOSING PARTIES INSURANCE INVOLVED. Unfortunately some people are just low life scum and will lie. Without backup documentation, you could be in the same boat. FWIW, the guys insurance would not accept testimony form anyone in our car at the time of the accident. A witness had to be disinterested third party.
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Old 24-01-2017, 09:09   #8
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Quote:
Originally Posted by Countryhomelove View Post
I have been unable to find this out so asking the forum. This involves an accident we were in - due to potential litigation I can not give all details but I am asking - What is a Charter Captain's Duty when he hits a docked boat?

We were docked. A Charter Captain - with Charter aboard hit us in the stern damaging the swim platform so that it is no longer usable. He said "I will take care of all this just let me handle my charter, which being nice and neighbors we allowed him the time to do. But he never reported the accident to the marina or police and then we fought for 6 months to get his insurance info despite having provided an estimate.

He says it is up to our insurance agent to do all the work. We didn't file as we were clearly not at fault (we have plenty of reliable witnesses including dockmaster at the marina).

So back to the question - as a Captain what was his legal responsibiliy?
legal responsibility/liability can only be determined by a court so asking such a question in a sailing forum borders on the absurd. i have hull insurance because situations like this can happen as well as protecting myself from my own screw ups. hopefully you too have hull insurance and if so pay any deductible, get your boat fixed and let your insurance company take the captain to court. if they can collect you'll get your deductible back. good luck.
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Old 24-01-2017, 09:44   #9
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Hello,
I would contact my insurance agent and ask him for direction. Be happy no one was hurt.
Good luck
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Old 24-01-2017, 10:42   #10
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

To my knowledge the liability follows the boat, not the operator. This is how and why many delivery captains ride on the vessel insurance, not their own. This would be no different than if you let a guest operate the boat, and they caused damage to your vessel or someone else's.

This is not unlike when you lend someone your car.

IMHO, I would have filed an accident report with the marina management and local authorities. I would have also contacted my insurance company immediately. I would prefer if my insurance negotiated the bureaucracy. They can pay me and they can chase getting compensated.
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Old 24-01-2017, 11:21   #11
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Free legal advice FWIW; turn your claim in to your carrier. Also IF the other captainn had a lisense make a complaint to that authority. Alternatively if you are in the US your local county court probably has a small claims court where you can pursue justice without an attorney and at reasonable cost. If you have a deductible your ins co will never recover that for you. Again small claims court may be your resource to do that. Can you ID the other boat? Check the registration records. Include the owner in your suit by alleging the captain was his agent. If they have insurance they will turn your suit over to their ins co. But if all of that is too much aggravation turn it in to your insurance company.
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Old 24-01-2017, 16:38   #12
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Claim with your insurance and let them subrogate on your behalf. Either way, you get the damage fixed. Let them worry about litigation and going after the other skipper. That is why you pay insurance.
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Old 24-01-2017, 21:00   #13
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Why would you be in litigation and asking strangers for LEGAL ADVICE?
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Old 24-01-2017, 21:16   #14
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Re: Question on a Captain's responsibility in accident

Not to be harsh but you messed up being a nice guy.


You take care of the incident then and there. Get names, insurance and report it immediately. That's too bad if his charter guests get delayed. They can take it up with the charter company.


Since you have litigation going, your best bet at this point is talk to your lawyer. By delaying, you may have lost some rights (both legal and insurance wise) and may even be in trouble for not reporting it in a timely manner.
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