Injured in a boat accident?Talk to a lawyer for free.

Usually whoever ran a boat carelessly, whether the accident was a collision, a capsizing, a fall overboard or a wake injury. California law forbids operating a boat in a reckless or negligent manner. A lending owner, a rental company or marina, or the maker of a defective part may share the blame. If you were partly at fault, the award shrinks by your share but doesn't disappear. When someone drowned or was killed, see our wrongful death page.

Running a recreational boat with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or more is illegal, and so is running any boat while impaired by alcohol or drugs (Harbors and Navigation Code §655). For boats that aren't recreational, such as commercial vessels, the limit is 0.04%. A sheriff's or harbor patrol report and any test results can help show what happened.

Not always. A release can't excuse gross negligence or a violation of law, and a rental company answers for its own carelessness, such as poor upkeep or handing the controls to someone too young. Children under 12 may not run a boat with a motor over 15 horsepower, and 12- to 15-year-olds only with an adult on board supervising (§658.5).

It may. On navigable waters, such as the Delta, San Francisco Bay, the ocean and major rivers, a collision between pleasure boats can fall under federal maritime law. It allows three years to sue, and it lets a boat's owner ask a federal court to limit what they owe to the boat's value, a request due within six months of a written claim. A ticket for a tour, charter or cruise can require notice of a claim and a lawsuit sooner. Many inland lakes may be treated differently.

They can. Children under 13 must wear a Coast Guard-approved life jacket on a moving recreational boat unless they're below deck or in an enclosed cabin, and so must everyone on a jet ski (§658.3). Since 2025, motorboat operators generally need a California Boater Card, and the engine can't run while someone is on the swim platform (§681). A broken safety rule can be evidence of carelessness.

The agency usually has to receive a written claim within six months. Agencies generally aren't liable for the natural conditions of an unimproved lake or river, or for hazardous recreation such as boating, with exceptions such as an unwarned known danger, a fee for the activity or a poorly kept dock. A private company running the marina isn't covered. Private landowners who let people use their land or water for free recreation have a similar protection, which doesn't apply if they charged for it, expressly invited the person, or willfully failed to warn of a danger.

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