Can I recover compensation if I was injured as a passenger on a recreational boat in Florida?

Yes. An injured passenger on a recreational watercraft can seek compensation if an accident results from operator negligence, reckless navigation, or vessel defects. Vessel operators owe all passengers a duty of reasonable care under Florida maritime law. Depending on how the accident occurred, liability may fall upon the operator of your boat, the operator of another vessel involved in a collision, or a maintenance provider. Because passengers rarely contribute to vessel operation, they are seldom subject to fault reductions under Florida's comparative fault statute, Fla. Stat. § 768.81. Jeffrey S. Altman of The Altman Law Firm represents injured maritime passengers on a contingency fee basis.