North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog

The families of Lorrie Shoup and Cindy Woodcock are suing Ocean Isle Beach Water Sports, North Carolina Water Sports, and owner Barrett McMullan for wrongful death. The two women died during a parasailing accident on August 28.

Woodcock, 60, and Shoup, 55, fell 500 feet into the water off Ocean Isle Beach when the tow rope linking their parachute to the boat snapped. Heavy winds dragged the parachute across the water, causing the women’s bodies to strike the pier and the boat. Autopsy results report that Shoup and Woodcock died from blunt force trauma.

According to their families’ North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit, McMullen and Thomas Povazan, the captain of the boat that was towing the two women, were negligent. The plaintiffs contend that Povazan and the ship’s mate did not give safety instructions to the women before they went parasailing. They also allegedly disregarded the other boat passengers’ pleas to pull the women back down as the winds accelerated. There were kids on the boat that reportedly witnessed the tragic accident.

Also, on the day that the Ocean Isle Beach parasailing accident happened, the National Weather Service had put out a small craft advisory warning boaters on the North Carolina coast that conditions might be dangerous because Tropical Storm Danny was picking up waves and wind. The parasail’s manufacturer had warned not to use its product in winds higher than 12 mph. Winds in the area hit 32 mph on August 28.

The victims’ families are seeking unspecified damages. Meantime, the Coast Guard is investigating the parasailing deaths.

Last year, Ocean Isle Beach Water Sports and NC Watersports filed complaints seeking to remove themselves from North Carolina wrongful death liability or limit any recovery to a $100,000 cap for the women’s parasailing deaths. The cap is the estimated value of the boat that was pulling them when they were fatally injured.

Families sue parasail operator over fatal accident, WRAL, June 24, 2010

Two Parasailing Companies File Complaint to Limit Wrongful Death Liability in Parasailing Accident that Claimed Lives of Two Women, North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog, October 10, 2009

Family Remembers Parasailing Victim, Digtriad, August 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
US Coast Guard

Parasailing Tips

Two North Carolina parasailing companies, NC Watersports and Ocean Isle Beach Water Sports, have filed a complaint in federal court seeking to either remove them from wrongful death liability or limit any potential civil compensation to a $100,000 cap for the parasailing deaths of two women.

Kernersville resident Cynthia Woodcock and her friend Lorrie Shoup died on August 28 after the rope that was holding them to the boat that was towing them snapped during stormy water conditions off Ocean Isle Beach. Boat Captain Thomas Provazan was reportedly unsuccessful in his efforts to reel them in. The tow line broke, causing the women to slam into the ocean. According to the North Carolina Medical Examiner’s Office, they died of blunt trauma.

The potential payout cap the two companies are proposing is the estimated value of the boat the women went out in and is also a limit allowed under federal law. The companies’ complaint included the liability wavers the two women signed before the parasailing accident.

The Wilmington wrongful death lawyer of one of the women who died, however, says the companies’ request could be denied if there is evidence that the owner of the boat had been aware of the factors that resulted in the fatal boating accident prior to the tragic incident. The boat's captain has said that he didn't know the National Weather Service had put out a warning to boaters that day.

If you or someone you love was injured in a North Carolina boating accident or a parasailing accident, you may have grounds for filing a boating accident lawsuit.

2008 Recreational Boating Accident Facts (US Coast Guard):

• 4789 boating accidents
• 3331 boating accident injuries
• 709 boating deaths
• More than 2/3rds of boating accident deaths involved drownings
• Motorboats, personal watercraft, and cabin motorboats were the most common kinds of vessels involved in recreational boating accidents

According to InjuryBoard.com, over 40 parasailing accidents happen in the US annually. In the last 10 years, at least 15 people have died and hundred of others injured.

Parasail companies seek liability limit, Charlotte Observer, October 10, 2009

Parasailing captain unaware of weather advisory before fatal accident, WRAL.com, September 24, 2009

Recreational Boating Statistics, 2008, US Coast Guard

Related Web Resources:
Parasail Safety Council

Coast Guard to weigh in on first regulations after parasailing accident, The Sun News, September 22, 2009

Sterling Stevenson, the captain of a CSY-44 sailboat that crashed into the Heidi Trask drawbridge in North Carolina ,when the bridge dropped onto his boat’s mast, has reached a settlement agreement with the state over damages his boat sustained in the collision.

Stevenson says that the State Attorney General’s Office offered to pay him $72,000 to compensate him for the damages to Marijke IV, his Bluewater Cruiser, and the personal expenses he has incurred from the September 10 crash. The State Attorney General’s Office confirmed that an agreement had been made with Stevenson but did not reveal the details.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation conducted a complete investigation with the State Attorney General’s Office and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The state, not Stevenson, was named the negligent party in the personal injury accident.

Improper maintenance of the drawbridge was cited as the cause of contributory negligence. A blind spot on one side of bridge will be examined, as will the issue of boats that are idle on the channel’s west side.

N.C. DOT division engineer Allen Pope says he is recommending relocating the closed-circuit television cameras and replacing the bridge house windows for greater visibility. He also wants to make improvements to the bridge operator’s workstation. He says these issues should be taken care of within 30 days. Pope would not say whether Wanda Ramsey, the bridge operator on duty when the accident happened, was at-fault in causing the collision. She has been a bridge tender for over 25 years.

If your boat, car, truck, or motorcycle has sustained damages because you were in a collision caused by another party, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer right away. An experienced personal injury attorney can meet with the other party and try to negotiate a settlement to compensate you for the costs associated with the property damage. If your attorney and the other party cannot reach a settlement agreement, your lawyer can sue the negligent party for you.

It is important that you work with an attorney who is experienced in handling property damage and personal injury cases. Your lawyer should be able to handle both kinds of cases for you.

State settles with boat captain, Luminanews.com, October 11, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Bridge collides with sailboat, captain to seek damages, Lumnia News, September 13, 2007

North Carolina Department of Transportation

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