A spinning outboard propeller takes a leg in seconds. When a missing guard, a disconnected kill switch, or a WaveRunner that would not steer played a part, the product itself can be the defendant. Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm, handles these claims on the St. Johns River, the Intracoastal, and Georgia coastal waters.
Call 904-383-7448Reviewed by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Florida Bar No. 39104, Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm. Last updated .
If you or a family member lost a limb or a life to a boat propeller or a personal watercraft on Florida or Georgia water, you may have a product-liability claim against the engine or boat maker, not only the operator. The deadline is the trap. A Florida product-injury suit runs four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes, but a Florida wrongful-death suit runs only two years under section 95.11(5)(e). And because the strike happened on navigable water, general maritime law may govern instead, with its own three-year clock under 46 U.S.C. 30106 that can preempt the state period. Do three things now: keep the boat, the engine, the propeller, and the kill-switch lanyard exactly as they are and do not let anyone repair them; get the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission accident report under chapter 327; and speak with a lawyer before the shortest clock runs. Graham W. Syfert, Esq., Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm, takes these cases. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
A propeller spinning at trolling speed turns roughly a dozen times a second. A leg in the water has no chance. The injury is almost always an amputation or a wound that becomes one, and too often it is a death. So we start at the end. The question is not only whether the operator was careless. The question is whether the engine, the boat, or the personal watercraft was built or sold in a defective condition, and whether the company that made it knew.
Two deadlines matter, and they are not the same. A Florida product-injury claim must be filed within four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. A Florida wrongful-death claim must be filed within two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. Many propeller cases are death cases, so the two-year clock often controls.
There is a third clock that can override both. A propeller strike on the St. Johns River, the Intracoastal Waterway, or coastal Georgia happens on navigable water during traditional maritime activity. That makes general maritime law a live question, and maritime tort claims carry a three-year limit under 46 U.S.C. 30106. We analyze which body of law governs before we do anything else, because picking the wrong one can forfeit the case.
Most recreational outboards and sterndrives sell with no propeller guard at all. The blades are exposed by design. A person in the water near the stern, a swimmer, a fallen wakeboarder, or a passenger thrown overboard is within reach of a turning blade in the time it takes to read this sentence.
Two mechanisms recur. In the first, the operator shifts into reverse or forward with someone close behind the boat, and the propeller draws the person in. In the second, an operator is ejected and the boat keeps running, circling back over people in the water, a pattern the industry calls the circle of death. The federal engine cut-off switch requirement exists precisely because of that second pattern.
The personal-watercraft version of the injury is different but no less foreseeable. On older WaveRunner and Sea-Doo machines, releasing the throttle to slow down also shut off the jet of water that steers the craft. The rider pulls the handlebars hard to dodge a swimmer or a dock and the machine plows straight ahead anyway. We treat that as a design problem, not a piloting error.
The defendant in a propeller case is usually the engine maker, the boat builder, or both, because they are often the same corporate family. Mercury Marine is a division of Brunswick Corporation, which also owns Sea Ray and other boat brands. Yamaha builds both outboards and the WaveRunner line of personal watercraft. Sea-Doo is made by BRP.
The central legal fact about open propellers is that the manufacturers fought guard claims for years on a federal-preemption theory and lost at the Supreme Court. In Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine, 537 U.S. 51 (2002), the Court unanimously held that the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 does not preempt state common-law claims, including a claim that an outboard was defective because it lacked a propeller guard. That case arose from a fatal propeller strike by a Mercury outboard. After Sprietsma, the absence of a guard is a question a jury may decide.
The Coast Guard's 1990 choice not to mandate propeller guards is not a defense to a state claim either. The Sprietsma Court treated that non-decision as fully consistent with leaving state liability law in place. We use that holding to answer the manufacturer's first argument before it is even made.
Off-throttle steering loss was a documented hazard on personal watercraft for years before the industry fixed it. The Society of Automotive Engineers published a recommended practice, SAE J2608, addressing off-throttle steering, and most personal watercraft built after 2006 give the rider some steering authority with the throttle released. A machine from before that change that struck a person while the rider had no steering is a candidate for a design-defect claim.
Steering hardware has also been recalled. BRP issued a voluntary safety recall on July 15, 2014, for model-year 2014 Sea-Doo Spark watercraft, because the steering column and handlebar could have been incorrectly manufactured and could break under rough riding conditions, causing a loss of control. A break that causes a strike fits a manufacturing-defect theory squarely. We pull the recall history for the exact hull and model year in every PWC case.
Congress made the engine cut-off switch mandatory in stages. The manufacturer-installation requirement comes from the 2018 Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act and is codified at 46 U.S.C. 4312; it requires makers and dealers to equip covered recreational vessels with a cut-off switch and link meeting American Boat and Yacht Council Standard A-33. The operator-use requirement was added by the Elijah E. Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2020 and took effect April 1, 2021. Operators of covered vessels, those under 26 feet capable of 115 pounds of static thrust, must wear the link while operating on plane or above displacement speed.
The switch is the device that stops the circle of death. If the operator is thrown clear, the lanyard pulls free and the engine dies before the boat can come back around. When a boat in this niche kept running after an ejection, the questions are whether the switch was installed as the law requires, whether it functioned, and whether the design invited the operator to defeat it.
This fact cuts both ways, so we say so plainly. A defendant will argue an injured operator failed to wear the link, and Florida's modified comparative-fault statute, section 768.81, Florida Statutes, now bars recovery for a plaintiff found more than fifty percent at fault. We confront that early. A passenger or a person in the water did not control the helm, and a switch that was missing, miswired, or never installed by the dealer shifts the focus back to the product and the people who sold it.
Florida recognizes strict products liability. The Florida Supreme Court adopted the Restatement (Second) of Torts section 402A in West v. Caterpillar Tractor Co., 336 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1976). Under that rule a manufacturer answers for a product sold in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user, without proof of negligence. We plead three classic defect theories, often together.
Design defect targets the engineering choice: an open propeller with no available guard, or a personal watercraft that loses all steering off-throttle. Manufacturing defect targets a unit that left the line wrong, such as the Sea-Doo Spark steering column that could break. Failure to warn targets the company's silence about a danger it understood, including the hazard of an unguarded blade or the need to wear the kill-switch link.
We also evaluate a premises and negligence overlay. A marina, livery, or rental operator that hands a customer a personal watercraft with a known steering hazard, or a boat with a missing cut-off switch, may bear its own liability. Ordinary negligence claims in Florida now carry a two-year limit under section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes, after the 2023 reforms, so the product claim's four-year window does not save a late negligence count.
House Bill 837 took effect March 24, 2023 and reshuffled these limits, so older citations you may find online are wrong. Here is the current law. A product-injury claim, including a defective-propeller or defective-PWC injury claim, runs four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. A wrongful-death claim, the more common posture in amputation-to-fatality cases, runs only two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. A general-negligence claim against an operator or rental company runs two years under section 95.11(5)(a), Florida Statutes.
Florida's statute of repose can bar a claim on an older boat outright. Under section 95.031(2)(b), Florida Statutes, a product claim generally cannot be brought more than twelve years after delivery to the first purchaser, regardless of when the injury happened. Boats and outboards last for decades, so a 1990s WaveRunner or a vintage outboard may be beyond reach. We check the hull identification number and the delivery date at intake.
Then there is the maritime question. A strike on navigable water during traditional maritime activity can place the case under general maritime law, where the limit is three years under 46 U.S.C. 30106. If maritime law governs, it can displace the Florida periods entirely. Because the federal three-year clock can be shorter than Florida's four-year product window and is nothing you want to gamble on, we treat the earliest plausible deadline as the real one and file accordingly.
For injuries on the Georgia side, near Brunswick or the St. Marys, Georgia law may apply. Georgia recognizes strict product liability under OCGA section 51-1-11, imposes a two-year personal-injury limit under OCGA section 9-3-33, and applies a ten-year statute of repose to product claims under OCGA section 51-1-11(b)(2). The Georgia repose period is shorter than Florida's, which matters for older equipment.
In a defective-product claim the physical object is the single most important piece of evidence, and it disappears fast. Insurers and repair yards want to fix, sell, or scrap the boat. Once the propeller is replaced, the kill switch is rewired, or the steering is repaired, the proof of the defect is gone and the defense will argue spoliation against you.
We preserve the entire system, not just the blade. That means the engine, the propeller and its hub, the shift linkage, the engine cut-off switch and its lanyard, the ignition and the helm controls, and on a personal watercraft the steering nozzle and handlebar assembly. We photograph the hull identification number and the engine serial number, because those numbers tie the unit to its model year, its recall history, and its date of first sale for the repose analysis.
We move quickly to secure the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission file. Under chapter 327, Florida Statutes, a boating accident involving a personal injury that needs more than first aid, a death, or property damage of at least two thousand dollars must be reported to FWC or local law enforcement, and the investigating officer must file a written report. That report, the officer's photographs, and the witness statements are often the backbone of the timeline.
There is usually more than one defendant. The engine maker, Mercury or Yamaha, may answer for the propeller design and the warnings. The boat builder, such as Sea Ray, may answer for the helm layout and the cut-off switch installation. On a personal watercraft, Yamaha or BRP may answer for off-throttle steering or a recalled steering part. The dealer that installed propulsion and controls has its own federal duty under 46 U.S.C. 4312 to equip the vessel with a working cut-off switch.
The operator and the operator's liability insurer remain in the picture, and on a rental craft the livery or marina may be liable for renting a known-hazard machine without adequate instruction. We map the corporate family early, because the same Brunswick or BRP parent can sit behind several named defendants, and because federal diversity jurisdiction and the maritime savings-to-suitors clause shape where the case is filed.
I tell families the hard truth on the first call. The shortest clock wins, and in a death case that is often two years, or three under maritime law, not the four years people read about for products. We calendar the earliest plausible deadline and work backward from it.
I will not let the boat get repaired. The defense theme in every guard case is that the operator did something wrong, and the only durable answer is the machine itself, preserved and inspected before anyone touches it. The Sprietsma decision means a jury is allowed to weigh the missing guard, but a jury cannot weigh a propeller that has already been swapped out.
I am candid about the comparative-fault problem under section 768.81, Florida Statutes, and about the repose bar under section 95.031, Florida Statutes, on older equipment. If a case has a fatal flaw, I would rather say so than take it. I am Of Counsel to the Soud Law Firm, and these cases are built with the firm's resources behind them. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and every figure you may read about another propeller case turned on its own facts.
If you or a family member was struck by a propeller or a personal watercraft, the boat is the case and the clock is running. Take these steps right away.
You may be able to sue both. The engine maker can be liable for an unguarded propeller and for failing to warn, separate from any claim against the operator. In Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine, 537 U.S. 51 (2002), the Supreme Court held unanimously that federal boating law does not block a state claim that an outboard was defective for lacking a propeller guard. Whether your specific facts support that claim is something a lawyer should evaluate after inspecting the engine.
A product-injury claim against the manufacturer runs four years under section 95.11(3)(d), Florida Statutes. A wrongful-death claim runs only two years under section 95.11(5)(e), Florida Statutes. If general maritime law governs because the strike happened on navigable water, the limit is three years under 46 U.S.C. 30106. Treat the shortest applicable period as your real deadline and consult a lawyer immediately.
It can. A propeller strike on navigable water during traditional maritime activity can fall under general maritime law, which carries a three-year limit under 46 U.S.C. 30106 and can displace the Florida limitation periods. Which law applies depends on the location and the activity, so this is analyzed case by case before filing.
It may be. Older personal watercraft lost all steering when the throttle was released, because the steering jet shuts off with the throttle. The industry addressed this through SAE J2608 and most craft built after 2006 retained some off-throttle steering. A pre-2006 WaveRunner or Sea-Doo that could not steer off-throttle is a candidate for a design-defect claim, subject to inspection and the repose deadline.
Yes. Manufacturers and dealers must install a cut-off switch meeting ABYC Standard A-33 under 46 U.S.C. 4312. Since April 1, 2021, operators of covered recreational vessels under 26 feet must wear the cut-off switch link while operating on plane or above displacement speed. A boat that kept running after an operator was ejected raises questions about whether the switch was installed and whether it worked.
Yes. BRP issued a voluntary safety recall on July 15, 2014 for model-year 2014 Sea-Doo Spark watercraft because the steering column and handlebar could have been incorrectly manufactured and could break under rough riding conditions. If a steering part failed and caused your crash, that recall supports a manufacturing-defect claim. We pull the recall history for your exact hull and model year.
Under chapter 327, Florida Statutes, an operator must report without delay any boating accident involving a personal injury that needs more than first aid, a death, or property damage of at least two thousand dollars, to FWC or local law enforcement. The investigating officer files a written report. We obtain that report, the officer's photographs, and the witness statements early, because they anchor the timeline.
Maybe not. Florida's statute of repose under section 95.031(2)(b), Florida Statutes, generally bars a product claim brought more than twelve years after the product was delivered to its first purchaser, no matter when the injury happened. Georgia uses a shorter ten-year repose period under OCGA section 51-1-11(b)(2). Because boats last for decades, we check the hull identification number and delivery date at intake.
Georgia law may apply. Georgia recognizes strict product liability under OCGA section 51-1-11, sets a two-year personal-injury deadline under OCGA section 9-3-33, and applies a ten-year product statute of repose under OCGA section 51-1-11(b)(2). For coastal injuries on navigable water, the federal maritime three-year period under 46 U.S.C. 30106 may govern instead. The right analysis depends on exactly where and how it happened.
It can reduce or bar it. Under section 768.81, Florida Statutes, as amended in 2023, a plaintiff found more than fifty percent at fault for the injury recovers nothing. A defendant will argue an operator failed to wear the kill-switch link or operated carelessly. A passenger or a person in the water who did not control the boat is in a different position, and a missing or defective product feature shifts the focus to the manufacturer.
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