Duck boat lawsuit

So everyone knew it was coming , but it intrigues me. I feel bad for everyone who lost someone in there. I don’t know the mental state of the driver but I can’t imagine he went out there thinking he was gonna die. Seems like a lawsuit would be out of the ? Seeing that that was a act of god. No one knew the waves were gonna get like that. I’m sure there have been tons of trips eventless. One time something happens they want everything the owners made and would probably shut the place down and loose lots of jobs up there. I agree there should be some kind of compensation, what that is Idk. It was a accident. Not negligent. I’m sure I’d feel different if I had a family memeber in there. But I don’t so I look at it a little differently.

I don't know about you but when I go onto a lake with a storm approaching I know the waves are going to get up.

yeah, and it's going to cost them bigly.

hopefully they can tighten those jobs back up

I know waves get big from storms. But I live A hour from That lake , the lake usually doesn’t get bad from storms. It’s a lake with lots of protection. No long straight runs really. I remember them saying that storm came faster then predicted also. I’m not familiar with that part of the lake maybe it’s worse there. I

I dont remember all the details but I remember thinking at the time it was a stupid decision to go out. I'm pretty sure they altered the trip b/c they knew bad weather was coming. In this case I think the captain was negligent.

They put those people on the water knowing there was a severe thunderstorm barreling down on the lake. There is no way you can ever convince me this was anything but negligence on the companies part. Their insurance probably wont cover this due to the fact they put the tour out knowing they were under a sever thunderstorm warning for their area, the liability will all come back on the company and owners of said company. I can vouch that insurance policies for tournament trails do that, if there is a lake wind advisory or severe weather warning for the area prior to takeoff they wont cover anything. The duck boat company chose the mighty dollar over the safety of their customers.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the area 20 minutes before that boat left the dock. Agree 100% with buda 13.

those city folk had no idea it was that dangerous and they had an obligation to protect them and did not. I have always thought those things were an accident waiting to happen. They weren't built with a closed cabin? There is no way to get out if those top heavy trucks even turn on there side.

Duck boats are death traps and are military machines that were NEVER designed to transport large groups of guileless tourists

The company knew the boat's design was dangerous. 17 dead including 9 from one family. 3 of which were kids ages 2, 7 & 9. You bet my a$$ if this was my family I would pursue every legal matter possible.

There are plenty of ramps on Table Rock. Why didn't the captain go for the closest ramp or just slam it in to the nearest shoreline? When you are in a dicey situation on the water, your people come first. Who cares if you damage the boat making sure everyone in your boat is safe.

this^^^

When I was in 8th grade my buddies parents rented a pontoon on Ray Roberts. Neither of them had ever driven a boat. We were going to stay the night on it. Well about 10pm a storm blows in and the guys dad freaks out. So I (the only one who had driven a boat) take it and ram it up on the closest beach I could find. We were a good 30min from the ramp in good weather. We sat there getting soaked for about 2hrs but we lived. I bent the prop, but didn't care a bit. He paid for it.

So say we find out that they were all given the option to stop , but they all decided to race to beat the storm would that make the boat company still liable? There’s even a guy suing for emotional damages for help rescuing people also physical damages guess he had a crown knocked out

I’ve often wondered also , I don’t understand why they turned around. I’d like to go see the area this happened just to try to make sense of it. As I think it was some negligence I also think it was a accident. Most people don’t want to die.

it's still the boat company's duty to protect their customers, even if they wanted to go. No different than parents letting their kid do something stupid cause the kid wanted to. It's the parents responsibility.

This single sentence sums it up.

Sadly they will be awarded massive sums but collection will be limited to the amount of insurance and the attachable assets of the business and individuals involved less attorneys fees. Which will be a small amount when divided up between 17 cases.

Tragedy.... company 100 percent responsible.

I get it that the boat should have never left due to weather, but if i were a passenger and knew the weather was bad, i wouldnt have went on the trip. Were the passengers forced to go?

The ducks never get more than a half a mile away from the ramp where it launches but it is so slow it is in the water over 30 minutes. The ramp is just north of the Branson belle and it goes around the island.

He should have never been on the lake in the first place!!

I wonder if the state ever inspects those things, I mean after all they are relics. I rode one in Hot Springs once out to Lake Hamilton and I'm sure riding a bucking bull would be much smoother.

Those old ducks should have been outlawed for tours a long time ago. They have no extra floatation and little freeboard. This wasn’t the first time a lot of people have died in them.

Bingo, to me you were a damn crook if you continued to operate knowing that and not adding additional flotation.

Negligence plain and simple. There’s no $ amount you can put on life and limb so it will be up to a jury. The business is done and their insurance company will be paying out the max. Bad deal all the way around.

There is an 1851 law that may limit their liability or damages they must pay.

To me and this is just my opinion. The only person that should be allowed to sue is the minors. Now that’s if the rumor is true. They were given the choice to get money back or take the ride. If the adults chose to ride that’s there fault as much as the company’s. No one makes me do things I don’t want to. If they were told no refunds. She the pants off Them