The businesses that run parasail trips have a legal responsibility to comply with the regulations that have been established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
A participant in the dangerous and challenging sport known as parasailing is allowed to soar into the air on a rope while dangling over the water in order to complete the activity. A parasailing wing and harness are used to support an individual when they are being hoisted by a speedboat hundreds of feet into the air while participating in the sport of parasailing.
When parasailing, it is common practice for multiple people to be attached to a single boat at the same time. The individual who is in charge of steering the speedboat is the one who decides where and how the guests will disembark.
Those in Florida who are looking for an exciting activity to partake in frequently choose to go parasailing. Parasailing is an incredible water sport, but depending on your level of competence, it also has the potential to be an extremely risky activity. If the necessary safety procedures are disregarded when participating in the sport of paragliding, then accidents are unavoidable.
If you were hurt as a consequence of such an accident, you might be entitled to hold the owners and operators of the parasailing vessels that disregarded safety regulations accountable for your injuries. This would be the case in the event that you were hurt as a result of the accident.
Accidents Involving Paragliding
Recently, in Key West, there was an incident that highlighted the perilous nature of parasailing. The Miami Herald reports that a fatal accident involving a Sunset Waters-ports sail took the life of a man and left a woman in critical condition. The tragic parasailing tragedy that claimed multiple lives took place in the Northwest Channel.
The pair, who were both tourists, were being lifted into the air by a speedboat when they plunged into the water below. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission conducted an investigation into such accidents and found that “extreme weather” was a contributing factor in the incident.
The woman was transported in critical condition to Jackson Memorial Hospital. 10 more people were aboard the 31-foot commercial boat at the time of the boating catastrophe.
Parasailing Accident Risk Factors
There are many potential causes of these accident injuries. The following are frequent reasons for parasailing mishaps:
- Adversity of the weather
- strong winds
- Devices that track the weather incorrectly
Parasailing Accident Liability
Up until 2014, the bulk of Florida’s parasailing operations were unregulated. Politicians passed the White-Miskell Act after realizing that parasailing lacked the appropriate monitoring and control. The White-Miskill Act, as it is more commonly known, became effective on October 1, 2014.
Despite the Act’s efforts to reduce the frequency of parasailing accidents and casualties, many operators flout the rules. A weather log must be kept by operators as part of the White-Miskell Act.
Operators are not allowed to conduct parasailing operations in bad weather, such as heavy rain and strong gusts:
- To track local weather reports, the proper weather-tracking equipment is needed
- All parasail operators must carry liability insurance with a minimum limit of $1 million
- The Coast Guard must issue licenses to all parasailers and
The businesses that run parasail trips have a legal responsibility to comply with the regulations that have been established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These rules dictate the use of particular visibility markers on the parasails, in addition to other restrictions such as not flying higher than the maximum allowable altitude of 400 feet above the ground. Other limits include the use of specific visibility markers on the parasails.
If you were hurt in an accident while parasailing, you shouldn’t be afraid to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer in Miami so that you may find out who is responsible for your case and seek compensation for your injuries. Get in touch with the legal professionals to get more information on the party or parties that are to blame for the incident that took place while you were participating in parasailing.
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