Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Editor: Rod Sullivan
Profession: Maritime Attorney

Category: Boating Accidents

These two accidents demonstrate why being near a boat while it is getting off a sandbar can be dangerous. In one incident, 21 year old Jimmy Spicer of Palm Harbor was helping to free a boat from Beer Can Island near Clearwater when the engine was started. He was struck in the head by the propeller and died. In a second incident, Ron Marshall of Arkansas was assisting a boater get off a sand bar in Pensacola when the boat operator suddenly put the engine into gear. The rope which Marshall was holding got caught in the propeller and amputated three of his fingers.