Captain Damaged Neighboring Boat- Who is Responsible?

[scuba0_1]

[QUOTE=Atraxia;1535356]What is it with Americans?
Always looking to sue someone.


That's awesome I've always wanted to ram a boat can you bring your boat over so I can hit it. You're such a nice people. .

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[CarlF]

A bill for $1500 from a marina for a collision involving a 64ft boat?

Must have been a mistake. They forgot one or two zeros

.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by OldFrog75

Really? I didn't know that. I've always assumed the driver of the vehicle is responsible. If I let someone borrow my car and they kill somebody with it, me and my insurance company are liable not the driver? I'm going to call my agent right now and confirm that.

*************

Just got off the phone with AAA and was told the driver of the vehicle is liable but the owner is responsible if the driver doesn't have adequate insurance to cover the damage. Moral of the story is if you're going to loan your vehicle to someone make sure they have adequate coverage of their own.

You know how this works in reality? The owner of the vehicle gets sued.
The owner pays (Through the insurance company).
The insurance company then goes into negotiation with the drivers insurance company.... it may get paid, it may not.
In the meantime, YOUR premium increases because YOU had a claim.
Lovely.

[xymotic]

This is what I know from watching people's court

#1 It's not the victims fault

Everyone agrees that innocent guy who did nothing wrong deserves to be paid; right?

So that's where you lost that fight righ tthere; you are at least a little bit at fault because you called the guy and it was your actions that inevitably cause the wreck; NOT the guy that got hit

That being said then YOU are the innocent guy in the transaction between you and the captain; but it's on you to sue him to make you whole for the damages you were forced to pay to the other guy

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by weavis

You know how this works in reality? The owner of the vehicle gets sued.
The owner pays (Through the insurance company).
The insurance company then goes into negotiation with the drivers insurance company.... it may get paid, it may not.
In the meantime, YOUR premium increases because YOU had a claim.
Lovely.

This is exactly right

I once got into an accident in CA where I drove over a board and it kicked up into a guy's headlight

HE was cited for having a suspended license and no insurance and I was let go because in CA you aren't responsible for road debris you didn't create and he was warned about following too close

the guy files a $1500 claim and my insurance paid it without even asking me and I switched insurance and my rate went up dramatically because I had claims

When I called Safeco they said they paid it because in WA I'd have been liable for kicking up the board I was incredulous! (particularly that they didn't even ask me about it!) but well my insurance with Geico went up and I never was able to contest or clear that claim

[bornyesterday]

If I pay a garage to fix my car I expect them to carry insurance to cover all risks while it's in their control. I'm also entitled to expect them to exercise a degree of skill and competence appropriate to their profession.

When I hire any professional to carry out work for me I expect him to carry adequate insurance - and to take responsibility for his mistakes.

I'm not unaware of the historic reasons for the commonly-accepted owner/skipper/crew relationship but I don't think they're relevant in most circumstances today. The OP's experience would suggest that today's owner is as liable to exploitation as his "captain."

Requiring delivery skippers to carry full insurance might eventually weed out the less proficient among them.

It's late here though and maybe this is nonsense.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by bornyesterday

Requiring delivery skippers to carry full insurance might eventually weed out the less proficient among them..

The "real delivery captains" do carry it or as part of their contract will specify that they will be covered under the Boat Owners Policy. But folks...you and I know that every drunk with some sea time down Island calls himself a "delivery captain"...we have all seen them and heard the horror stories.

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by bornyesterday

When I hire any professional to carry out work for me I expect him to carry adequate insurance - and to take responsibility for his mistakes.

Yeah but if you were a pedestrian and got hit by the mechanic on a test drive you'd sue everyone and let them work it out between themselves

The pedestrian doesn't care who pays his hospital bill but he knows it ain't gonna be him

And likewise; the hospital isn't going to go after the garage (or wait for it to work out); they are gonna go after the guy they treated

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Suijin

So I guess in Sweden when you ask someone for compensation, they just give it to you whether they think they are at fault or not. That's awesome.

Yeah. I need to go hang out there for a while and refill my cruising kitty!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

The "real delivery captains" do carry it or as part of their contract will specify that they will be covered under the Boat Owners Policy. But folks...you and I know that every drunk with some sea time down Island calls himself a "delivery captain"...we have all seen them and heard the horror stories.

Hic... Whazat..??

[Captain Bligh]

The whole reason you hire a captain is so that you don't end up with marinas sending you bills. But good luck getting the money out of him if he has no insurance and you don't have a contract that protects you in some manner.

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[maytrix]

Originally Posted by bornyesterday

If I pay a garage to fix my car I expect them to carry insurance to cover all risks while it's in their control. I'm also entitled to expect them to exercise a degree of skill and competence appropriate to their profession.

When I hire any professional to carry out work for me I expect him to carry adequate insurance - and to take responsibility for his mistakes.

I'm not unaware of the historic reasons for the commonly-accepted owner/skipper/crew relationship but I don't think they're relevant in most circumstances today. The OP's experience would suggest that today's owner is as liable to exploitation as his "captain."

Requiring delivery skippers to carry full insurance might eventually weed out the less proficient among them.

It's late here though and maybe this is nonsense.

Except this isn't like hiring a mechanic, its more like hiring a driver for your car. It's your car, so they shouldn't be paying for the insurance on the car. They should have liability insurance themselves, but clearly in this case they didn't and this should be a lesson for the OP

[weavis]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Hic... Whazat..??

LOLOL

You can 'expect" all you want for people to have insurance.

• Did you check?
• Did you confirm with YOUR insurance company that liability was being transfered for the purposes of THIS TRIP from X to Y to the insurance of the hired skipper and his insurance POLICY number given to your insurance?
• NO?

Oh dear. Whoops.


If a Captain is a friend or someone who has a good reputation and is within your price capabilities, and he informs you that he does not have insurance and will not be carrying the insurance liability on this trip.......... he will not. It does not make him a bad delivery captain.

It makes him a delivery captain that has informed you of HIS side of the contract.

I 'hire" locums in my medical clinic from time to time. They are on my insurance even though self employed.

I hire drivers from time to time. If they use MY vehicle, its my insurance. If its a Taxi or a Car company with their vehicle and driver, its their insurance.

Stupid stuph happens, and the sad thing is WHATEVER happens that the owner disagrees with will make a good delivery skipper bad in the hirers eyes........ from hitting something to a diference over a weather window missed and fuel having to be used......... whatever..... but he was hired to do the job and its his call and things result from that.

It doesnt always go smoothly.

The trip cost you $1500 more.

Skippers will tell you of trips where malfunctions happened en route and the boat is laid up in a foreign port waiting for repairs and costing thousands. Thats not the skippers fault either. It just feels like it should be


Im genuinely understanding the irritation. Get over it and move on. Life is too short.

[a64pilot]

I am truly surprised it was only $1500, you got lucky is one way of looking at it. It could have been $15,000

[Jammer Six]

Thirty posts and I'm the first one to say "license".