Lawsuit against boat manufacturer

[mnwild2]

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/08/368...-to-chico.html

[SkiTower]

12 in the bow????

How big is this thing? I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with the boat but I HIGHLY doubt it's designed to have 2/3 of it's capacity in the bow. Driver's Fault!

[obd666]

agreed, that verdict is complete bullsh!t. after exceeding the boats capacity, how could all bets not be off liability wise? blame falls on boats owner and/or driver ... is a pretty horrific story though

[WakeSlayer]

MasterCraft won't end up paying that. They will appeal. That is BS. Bad accident, but a competent driver could likely have prevented this.

[jchamlin]

I have to pay attention to not take a wave over the front most every time I go boating...and the most I've ever had is 9 people in the boat.

I feel sorry for the victims but I don't think MC is at fault here. Also, the driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.04, which is nothing. I'm guessing he had a few beers in him at the time of the accident and def should not have had that many people in the boat, which is why he has felt responsible all the time. Duh!

[Chexi]

I'm a corporate lawyer, not a litigator, for this exact reason. Vedicts like this makes me sick.

[jchamlin]

Here's another link which provides a little more information: http://www.orovillemr.com/news/ci_18229048

It says something about ladder holes allowing water into the boat's shell and a hull design that made it easier to swamp. If you overload any boat, guess what?

[mnwild2]

I'm a corporate lawyer, not a litigator, for this exact reason. Vedicts like this makes me sick.

Chexi, I was hoping you would post to this thread knowing you were an attorney. Sad story for everyone involved, but isn't the first thing you do with man overboard is cut the engines?

[DaveP]

I hate reading this stuff. Pack a bunch of stupid people in a boat, add lawyers and remove any and all personal responsibility and this is what you get. Arrggghhh!!!

[gride]

Can't u have any number of people in the boat?Def. Driver error

[xrichard]

What a horrible accident! This type of thing never crossed my mind (...people being washed out of the bow). I'm always concerned about kids in the bow, but my fear is that they could be bounced out or bounced off the seat and injured, so my rule is feet on the floor to keep them low and stable.

Even at 3-5mph, this could happen so quickly that the driver would not be able to react fast enough to prevent it, avoid running over the folks in the water, or get the engine stopped.

I'm sure most of us have taken water over the bow at one time or another. Verdict right or wrong, this is a HUGE warning against loading up the bow of any boat.

[swc5150]

Wow, that's a pathetic verdict. It couldn't possibly be the fault of the moron who allowed 12 people up in the bow! It must be the "evil big corporation"! There are countless ways to get hurt in boat, which cannot be engineered out of the product. If anyone should be paying out for negligence, it should be the idiot driver. Thank you ambulance chasers of America!

[Texan1554]

Frustrating deal. Who was this jury?

Idiot driver power turning into his own wake with a loaded bow. These girls had to have been pretty much hanging off the side of the boat and the driver had to have been flooring it. I mean seriously, for TWO poeple to get swept off then under the boat. I don't have the specs here but the X45 is a 25' boat, the beam has got to be 100" or so and I"m sure the draft is nearly 3' especially with the weight.

[swc5150]

Looking at the X45 pics on MC's website, it looks like 2 people can lounge comfortably in the bow. With 12 people, some HAD to be sitting on other's laps. I guess selling your product to a dumb**s can cost you $30mil:-(

[Chexi]

The proof that the driver was an idiot and this was 100% his fault is that there is no way that boat had the optimum wake going on with that weight distribution. Case closed. I should have been defense counsel.