Tips on Staying Safe at the Lake from a Personal Injury Lawyer
Now that summer has arrived, more and more people are heading to the lake. With beautiful lakes like Table Rock and Lake of the Ozarks, why wouldn’t you? But it’s important to take safety precautions. Around this time of year, our personal injury lawyer team see a lot of injuries that could have been avoided with proper lake safety. Follow the following tips to stay safe next time you’re having fun in the sun.
Staying Safe on the Boat
Going out on the boat is one of the most fun things to do at the lake, but it’s also one of the most common reasons our personal injury lawyer team sees for lake injuries. There are quite a few safety measures you need to take. The first is having the proper amount of life jackets on the boat. There needs to be at least one for each person on the boat. Children under 13 are required to wear them at all times.
If you decide to go tubing, wakeboarding, or tubing, you need to wear a ski vest, which is more form-fitting than a typical orange life jacket. You also need at least two people on the boat in order to monitor the tuber, skier, or wakeboarder. One person to drive and one person to monitor the ski flag. When someone falls, the flag holder needs to raise the flag in the air to warn other boaters that someone is in the water.
Swimming
When swimming you need to take precautions as well. If you’re swimming off the boat, wear a life jacket. The lake is very deep, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. You also never get into the boat until the engine is shut off. One of the most common reasons people need a personal injury lawyer for a lake injury is because of propellers. If the propeller is still on, it’s not safe to be swimming near it. Also, if you’re swimming off the boat, you need to stick the ski flag on the front window in an upright position. This way other boaters know that people are swimming near your boat.
If you’re swimming off of a dock, you should still wear a life jacket. You also need to make sure not to venture too far from the dock. Be sure to stay in a no-wake zone, which are areas where boats aren’t allowed to go faster than idle speed. Swimming in the main channel is very dangerous since you don’t have a boat near you that has a ski flag up. Even on a boat, you should never swim in the main channel. Find a cove or no-wake zone to anchor and swim there.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer at TB, LLC
If you’re injured at the lake, contact a personal injury lawyer at Tolbert Beadle, LLC. We have extensive experience in wide variety of personal injuries. If you’re entitled to consultation, we can get it for you. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer.
