Boating is woven into daily life in Palm Beach County. On a warm weekend the Intracoastal Waterway and the Lake Worth Lagoon fill with everything from center-console fishing boats to rented pontoons and jet skis, and the inlets carry them out toward the Atlantic. Most days on the water end at the dock with nothing worse than a sunburn. Some end in an emergency room, or with a family trying to understand their options after a loved one never came back. If a boating accident hurt you or someone close to you, Elstein Legal represents injured boaters across West Palm Beach and the rest of Palm Beach County.
Attorney Brian Elstein handles these cases personally. You will not be passed to a case manager you never met. And because a boating injury can involve several parties, and sometimes a charter contract you signed without reading, having someone who knows how the other side thinks matters from the first phone call.
Why Injured Boaters Choose Elstein Legal
Before Brian Elstein represented injured people, he worked for the other side. He spent years as an insurance-defense attorney, hired by carriers to defend injury claims and decide what they were worth. He knows the tactics an insurer uses to delay a boating claim and shrink a payout, because those tactics were once his job. You can read more about Brian Elstein’s insurance defense background and why he switched sides.
Here is what that means for your case:
- He knows how insurers value a claim. Brian evaluated injury claims from the defense chair. He can spot when an adjuster is lowballing you and knows what documentation forces a fair number.
- Your case is handled by Brian, not handed off. Elstein Legal is a solo practice by design. The lawyer you hire is the lawyer who works your file.
- No fee unless he wins. The firm takes boating injury cases on contingency. No Fees Unless We Win, and you owe nothing up front.
- Reachable when you need him. Brian is available 24 hours a day, including nights and weekends, so you are not left waiting until Monday after a weekend accident.
What To Do After a Boating Accident in Palm Beach County
The hours and days after a boat accident shape your claim. A few practical steps protect both your health and your case.
- Get medical care right away. Adrenaline hides injuries. A head or spinal injury can feel minor at the scene and turn serious overnight. Palm Beach County has strong emergency care, including a Level I trauma center at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach for the most severe injuries.
- Make sure the accident gets reported. Florida law requires certain boating accidents to be reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or local law enforcement. Reporting is required when a death or disappearance occurs. It is also required when an injury needs care beyond basic first aid, or when property damage reaches $2,000.
- Document what you can. Photos of the vessels and the water conditions help your claim, along with any visible damage. Get the names and contact details of every other operator, plus any passengers and witnesses on the water that day.
- Preserve the paperwork. If you rented the boat or booked a charter, keep the rental agreement or ticket. Those contracts often contain deadlines and clauses that affect your rights, which the next section explains.
- Talk to a lawyer before you talk to the insurer. An adjuster may call within days sounding helpful. Anything you say can be used to reduce your payout. A first call with our West Palm Beach injury practice costs nothing and protects you.
Florida Boating Injury Law, Stated Correctly
A lot of law-firm pages state the deadline for a boating claim as a flat two years. That is not always right, and getting it wrong can cost you your entire case. Here is the accurate picture.
The deadline is not always two years.
Most Florida negligence injury claims carry a two-year statute of limitations under Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a), reduced from four years by the 2023 tort-reform law. Many sites still list the old four-year figure. Do not rely on it.
Boating cases can be different, though. An accident on navigable water may fall under federal maritime law rather than, or alongside, Florida law. If you signed a ticket or contract for a rental or charter, that document can impose a shorter deadline, sometimes as little as one year. It may also dictate where you are allowed to sue. Never assume you have two years after a boating accident. Have the specific facts reviewed quickly.
Two more rules apply to most Palm Beach County boating claims.
Comparative fault sets who recovers and how much. Under Fla. Stat. § 768.81, a person found more than 50% at fault for an accident recovers nothing. At 50% or less, recovery is reduced by that share of the blame. Insurers push hard to shift fault onto the injured boater for exactly this reason, so how fault gets documented early matters.
Wrongful death claims have their own path. When a boating accident is fatal, Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, Fla. Stat. § 768.19, lets certain surviving family members bring a claim. A wrongful death claim has its own rules on who is eligible to recover and for what.
One thing you will notice missing here is the 14-day PIP rule. That no-fault deadline applies to car crashes, not boating accidents. If a page tells you to seek treatment within 14 days to protect a boat-injury claim, it is copying car-accident content onto the wrong page.
Who Pays After a Boat Accident, and What Your Claim Is Worth
Boating claims rarely have a single, obvious defendant. Depending on how the accident happened, more than one party may be responsible. Each usually carries its own insurance:
- Another operator who was speeding or distracted. Boating under the influence is also a crime in Florida and a frequent cause of serious accidents.
- The boat owner who let someone unfit or unlicensed operate the vessel or failed to maintain it.
- A rental or charter company that handed over a poorly maintained boat or skipped a required safety briefing.
- A manufacturer, if a defective engine or fuel system caused the injury. Fuel and engine fires are a real danger on the water, and a serious burn can mean a separate claim for burn injuries.
Figuring out who pays is where an insurance-defense background earns its keep. Brian knows how carriers assign and dispute liability on the water, and how they try to value an injury low. He builds the claim the way the defense would want to attack it, then closes those doors before the other side can use them.
A boating injury claim can include several kinds of losses:
- Medical bills, limited under Florida law to amounts actually paid or owed rather than the full sticker price a hospital bills.
- Future medical care when an injury needs ongoing treatment.
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering, plus how the injury affects your daily life.
- Damage to your own vessel or property.
As for what a claim is worth, the value depends on how serious the injuries are and how much care they require. Lost income and the long-term effect on your life factor in too. Anyone who quotes you a dollar figure before reviewing your records is guessing.
Boating on Palm Beach County Water
Palm Beach County is one of the busier boating markets in a state that leads the nation in boating. Florida had more than a million registered vessels in 2025 and recorded 694 reportable boating accidents statewide that year, with 51 deaths, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Palm Beach County regularly ranks near the top: in 2024 the FWC logged 45 reportable boating accidents here, third-most of any county in the state.
Local geography drives a lot of that traffic. The Intracoastal Waterway runs the length of the county, and the Lake Worth Lagoon draws heavy recreational use. The inlets funnel boats between calm inland water and the open Atlantic, where conditions change fast. Add rental boats operated by visitors unfamiliar with local water, and collisions and falls overboard follow.
If your case does not settle and has to be filed, it would generally proceed in the 15th Judicial Circuit for Palm Beach County, at the main courthouse on North Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. Maritime claims can land in federal court instead, another reason the venue question deserves early attention.
Results and Reviews
Elstein Legal has recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for injured clients across South Florida, including a $7,900,000 recovery in a fatal crash case and a $12,250,000 result in a negligent-security case. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee, warrant, or predict future outcomes.
The firm holds a 5 out of 5 rating from more than 120 Google reviews. In the words of a few people Brian has represented:
He gave me great advice and made sure I understood every step of the process.
Lachrisha Stokes, Google review
Brian is absolutely the best! He was by my side every step of the way, and made me feel so comfortable.
Chloe Fretwell, Google review
My husband and I had an excellent experience working with Brian and his assistant Leda.
Yamilet Rojas, Google review
When you are ready, call Elstein Legal at (305) 299-2835 or schedule a free case evaluation online. Brian will review what happened at no cost, and the line is answered 24/7.