Boat accident lawyer
Shalhoub Law Injury & Accident represents people injured in boating accidents in West Palm Beach and throughout Palm Beach County. That includes claims from boat crashes, which are investigated differently from a car crash. Attorney Paul R. Shalhoub spent years defending insurance companies before he began representing injured people, and he handles every case himself, from the first call through trial.
Collisions, propeller injuries and passenger falls on the Intracoastal, where the report comes from FWC rather than a police department.
The demand is built around what actually moves a file, because Paul spent the early part of his career on the other side of it.
Reach us
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Calls answered 24 hours
Phone: (561) 208-5058
Email: info@shalhoubinjurylaw.com
What this claim involves
Who is responsible
Liability on the water turns on who was operating, whether a proper lookout was kept, and who owned or chartered the vessel.
What it is worth
Medical bills, lost income, future care and the part that is not on a receipt. How value is calculated →
How long you have
Two years for most Florida negligence claims. Florida injury deadlines →
What does it cost to hire a lawyer?
Nothing up front. The fee is contingent on winning or settling the case.
A boat crash is not investigated like a car crash
There is no skid mark, no intersection camera, and often no independent witness. What exists is a reporting duty, and whether it was obeyed.
Florida Statute 327.30(1) requires an operator involved in a collision, accident or other casualty to render assistance to those affected and to give his or her name, address and the identification of the vessel in writing to any person injured.
Section 327.30(2) then requires the accident to be reported “without delay, by the quickest means available” to the Division of Law Enforcement of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the sheriff of the county where it happened, or the local police chief.
| When a report is required | A personal injury requiring medical treatment beyond immediate first aid; a death; the disappearance of a person from on board in circumstances indicating possible death or injury; or damage to any vessel or other property of an apparent aggregate of at least $2,000 |
| Who it goes to | FWC Division of Law Enforcement, the county sheriff, or the municipal police chief — which on Palm Beach County water usually means FWC alongside the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s marine unit |
| Leaving the scene | s. 327.30(5) makes it unlawful to leave, and requires giving all possible aid and making a reasonable effort to locate the owner or those affected. Penalties run from a second-degree misdemeanor for property damage to a first-degree felony where there is a death, with a four-year mandatory minimum under (5)(b) for a willful violation causing death |
The reporting duty matters to a civil claim even though it is written as a public obligation. An operator who did not report, or who left, has handed the injured person a fact that is difficult to explain to a jury — and in practice it changes how an insurer values the file.
What Paul Shalhoub does on a boat claim
The evidence on the water disappears faster than it does on a road.
| Get the FWC report and the investigating officer | Marine investigations are handled by a different agency from a road crash, and the file looks different. Who responded, and what they measured, shapes everything that follows |
| Find the coverage before it is repaired | A vessel may be covered by a marine policy, by a homeowner’s policy in some circumstances, or by nothing at all — boat insurance is not compulsory in Florida the way auto liability is. Who owned it, who was operating it, and whether the owner permitted that use are all separate questions |
| Preserve the vessel | Hull damage, propeller condition and the position of controls are evidence. Boats are repaired, sold or moved out of state quickly, and a written preservation demand on day one is often what keeps the case alive |
| Identify everyone aboard, on both vessels | Passengers scatter, and several are often visitors who do not live here. Names and numbers taken at the dock are worth more than anything attempted months later |
| Alcohol, and who was actually driving | Both come up more often on the water than on the road, and both are established by the investigation rather than asserted later |
Do you need a lawyer after a boat accident?
An honest answer, including when it is no.
Where you probably do not. Minor contact at a dock, nobody hurt, and the only question is a scraped hull. That is a property claim between two insurers.
Where you probably do. Anyone needed treatment beyond first aid. The operator did not report it, or left. There is a question about who was operating, or whether they had the owner’s permission. Alcohol is in the picture. The vessel was a rental or a charter, which brings in a commercial policy and sometimes a liability waiver worth reading carefully. Or someone is missing or died, where federal maritime law may apply alongside Florida law and the analysis changes entirely.
The consultation is free, so finding out which one you are in costs a phone call.
Related claims we handle
The practice is injury work only, so the neighboring claim types are handled in the same office by the same attorney. See every practice area
Slip and fallSurveillance video and the incident report decide these claims, and stores overwrite video on a schedule. The preservation letter is the first thing we send.Learn more →
Premises liabilityA property owner who knew about a dangerous condition and left it that way is responsible for what happens next.Learn more →
Negligent securityAssaults at apartment complexes, hotels and parking garages with broken gates, dark lots or a documented history of crime on the property.Learn more →Common questions
Do I have a boat accidents case?
The call is free and Paul gives a straight answer, including when the answer is no.
How long do I have to file?
Two years from the injury for most Florida negligence claims under Florida Statute 95.11. Claims against a government body require written notice first and run on a different clock.
What does it cost to hire a lawyer?
Nothing up front. The fee is a percentage of the recovery. We advance case costs, and you owe no attorney’s fees or reimbursement of those costs unless we recover compensation for you.
Will I deal with Paul or with staff?
With Paul. He handles every case personally.
Talk to Paul, not a case manager
Consultations are free and confidential. We advance case costs, and you owe no attorney’s fees or reimbursement of those costs unless we recover compensation for you. Paul handles every case personally.