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Archive for Propeller Accident

Malibu Boats Safety Alert: Bow Seating Hazard

Malibu Boats released a Safety Alert regarding a Bow Seating Hazard on July 18, 2023. Malibu reports the safety alert is due to a tragic incident that occurred with a Malibu Response LX boat. A passenger was washed out of the bow seating during a bow swamping incident. The passenger was then hit by the […]

Comments on Malibu Boats Safety Alert : Bow Seating

Malibu Boats released a Safety Alert in July 2023 regarding bow seating and swamping in certain older Malibu boats. This post will discuss the history behind Malibu’s bow swamping Safety Alert, comments concerning the Safety Alert, and possible future implications. Background History Long ago, some ski boat manufacturers began to offer open bow boats with […]

Walter Greer, 3, killed by boat propeller in Utah

Walter Greer, age 3 from Salt Lake City, was on a wakeboard boat with his family. They were on Echo Reservoir northwest of Coalville (Utah) Sunday, August 13, 2023. About 4:45pm Walter Greer fell from the wakeboard boat. Walter was fatally struck by the boat propeller. Walter was wearing a life jacket when he fell […]

Malibu Boats agrees to pay $100 million in Batchelder case

A 2014 propeller strike in Georgia claimed the life of 7 year old Ryan Batchelder. In August 2021 Malibu Boats was found guilty in Superior Court of Rabun County Georgia. The Product Liability Case verdict totaled $200 million dollars. Since then, Malibu Boats has been trying to reduce or eliminate the jury award. Malibu Boats, […]

Underwater Head Impact Propeller Guard report Volume3

This post is the fourth of a series of five posts covering the boating industry’s legal defense. Specifically, their legal defense against boat propeller guard product liability / product defect lawsuits. It focuses on our review of the 1990 underwater testing of a propeller guard impacting an anthropomorphic dummy’s head. The testing was performed at […]

Underwater Leg Impact Propeller Guard report Volume4

This post is the fifth of a series of five posts covering the boating industry’s legal defense. Specifically, their legal defense against boat propeller guard product liability / product defect lawsuits. It focuses on our review of the 1990 underwater testing of a propeller guard impacting cadaver legs. The testing was performed at State University […]

California woman struck by boat propeller in Columbia

Natalia Andrea Larranaga Fajardo, 26 originally from Columbia, now from California, was on vacation in Columbia on November 27, 2022. Natalia was on Wata Beach in San Andes, Columbia about 445 miles off the mainland coast of Columbia. She saw some people she knew on a tour boat and joined them. The tour boat was […]

Batchelder vs Malibu: $200 million jury verdict stands

This case arose from a 2014 propeller strike in Georgia in which water came over the bow of a 2000 Malibu Response LX rental ski boat when it crossed its own wake. Seven year old Ryan Batchelder was washed out of or jumped from the bow and was fatally struck by the boat’s propeller. More […]

July 4th weekend 2022 boat propeller accidents

We noticed a significant increase in media reported boat propeller accidents over the weekend of July 4, 2022 compared to previous July 4th weekends. We briefly list the boat propeller accidents for the 6 day period beginning Saturday July 2, 2022 below. The list of of dozen boat propeller strike accidents includes 6 fatalities, two […]

USCG releases Recreational Boating Statistics 2021

The U.S. Coast Guard released their annual 2021 recreational boating accident statistics report on 16 June 2022. Total number of accidents, injuries, and deaths were down significantly in 2021. 2021 USCG NARD reported accident statistics were 4,439 accidents, 2,641 injuries, and 658 deaths. 2020 USCG BARD reported accident statistics were 5,265 accidents, 3,191 injuries, and […]