We have made casual comment that propeller guarding - the protection of persons in the water by placing the propeller in a protective guard - is a developing issue in recreational boat litigation along with crash worthiness
A recent case Elliot v. Brunswick, CV 88-AR-1104-S (N.D. Ala So Div. Jan. 17, 1989), in which the judgment of $1.5 million compensatory damages and $3 million punitive was handed down appears to make this a very viable issue.
In this case, a 14 year old girl attending a party at a friends home, jumped into the water by a lighted pier at midnight.
Some young men were watching the party from their boats off the pier. One of them started their boat and turned hard to move further from the pier. The stern drive unit passed over the girl cutting her badly.
The central issue in this case was whether propeller guards are and have been feasible.
The plaintiffs stated that prudent manufacturing practice would recognize that the manufacturer should design out, or guard against hazards if feasible, that propeller injuries are a known hazard, and that the manufacturer had not acted in a reasonably prudent manner and was thus liable.
Defendant manufacturer claimed that a guard would cover a greater area and thus there was more likelihood that a person in the water would be hit, that getting hit by a guard except for a slow boat, might cause a worse injury than if no guard was present, and a guard would slow the boat down and possibly cause steering problems.
There are additional cases pending in California and Hawaii in which MEC experts are involved.
Home ! Search Page ! Master index ! Table of Contents for This Issue