Branson Duck Boat Tragedy

Just a brief update.  As expected, lawsuits by the dozens have been filed and are still being filed.  Probably most surprising is not the criminal charge filed against the Captain of the sunken duck boat but the same criminal charge filed against the Captain of the duck boat that managed to exit the water and proceed all the way back to the office as on a normal run before finding out the other boat had sunk.  Did not think you could be criminally charged for a normal tour.  But perhaps the silliest of the lawsuits so far is the one filed by a Good Samaritan who was an employee of the Showboat Branson Belle that was located very close to the sinking area and who jumped into the water rescuing two people and bringing in two of the drowning victims.  Shortly thereafter he quit his job and now claims emotional distress and PTSD and has filed a lawsuit for an unspecified amount of money.  Can you say 'deep pockets' as the company that owns this operation has assets in the billions.

It is obvious that the Duck Boats will not again operate on Table Rock Lake, at least not in their current configuration, but the lineup of lawyers vastly exceeds the victims both alive and dead in this tragedy.

Bill

Bill N said:

Probably most surprising is not the criminal charge filed against the Captain of the sunken duck boat but the same criminal charge filed against the Captain of the duck boat that managed to exit the water and proceed all the way back to the office as on a normal run before finding out the other boat had sunk.  Did not think you could be criminally charged for a normal tour.

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According to the Kansas City Star everything is still in investigation phase, and no actual charges have been filed yet. The "other" boat captain is not being blamed for the capsizing or deaths, but was potentially negligent/reckless in operating his OWN vessel in an unsafe manner/conditions. Even though he made it back safely. The allegation is that neither boat should have ever been launched that day / that time in the first place, because of the known risk of adverse conditions. (That story is currently a week old, so perhaps there has been an update with charges actually filed.)

scottydl said:

According to the Kansas City Star everything is still in investigation phase, and no actual charges have been filed yet. The "other" boat captain is not being blamed for the capsizing or deaths, but was potentially negligent/reckless in operating his OWN vessel in an unsafe manner/conditions. Even though he made it back safely. The allegation is that neither boat should have ever been launched that day / that time in the first place, because of the known risk of adverse conditions. (That story is currently a week old, so perhaps there has been an update with charges actually filed.)

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This whole thing is turning into a maze of lawsuits and criminal charges.  If I understand it correctly the US Coast Guard has investigated and turned the case over to prosecutors for criminal charges - what those charges will be are unknown but now the state Attorney General who is currently running for the US Senate has involved himself by stating he is going to file charges (this may be in connection with the Coast Guard recommended charges).  I think we can safely say it will be years of litigation before this is all solved.  Perhaps John Grisham could even write a book about all of the lawyer activity on this one sinking alone.  It would be a best seller.

Bill

The nice thing about being a liability attorney is that 20/20 hindsight is well-recognized as a requirement for the operator of any public transport or commercial service.


All the tourists who would have complained bitterly if the boat hadn't sailed on a sunny afternoon are now eager plaintiffs.

AMEN

Isn't that why we have trained professionals? Should they not be expected to have the foresight to make informed, rational and professional decisions regarding their specialty? We, well most of us, have 20/20 hindsight, we hire and use professionals to see danger before we do.
Everyone hates lawyers and government until they are needed!
RichH

Gary RV_Wizard said:

The nice thing about being a liability attorney is that 20/20 hindsight is well-recognized as a requirement for the operator of any public transport or commercial service.


All the tourists who would have complained bitterly if the boat hadn't sailed on a sunny afternoon are now eager plaintiffs.

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Isn't that why we have trained professionals? Should they not be expected to have the foresight to make informed, rational and professional decisions regarding their specialty?

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Certainly those folks should work from the best information they have available, but sometimes the best available isn't completely accurate. The VERY BEST of meteorologists can't make forecasts 100% correctly, and in some places, it's waaay below 100%. And a lake, such as Table Rock (a huge lake) can sometimes create its own weather, something that cannot be forecast. Folks who operate boats for hire (whether it's a DUKW or a more conventional boat) can only go by what the weather pros tell them, or by what they actually see. If neither their eyeballs nor the weather pros detect a spell of bad weather in time to protect a particular operation, then why expect the poor driver himself (or his immediate boss) to be responsible as if they were a GOD?

Should they not be expected to have the foresight to make informed...decisions regarding their specialty?

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The boat company people are mostly not weather folks, but rather depend on those who are. They work with the best INFORMATION they have available (that is being informed), but sometimes the information available is inaccurate and there actually is NO ONE to blame -- it just happens to be beyond the state of the art in meteorology -- but the lawyers want to try anyway.

I truly get the feeling that some of these 20/20 hindsight expectations of 20/20 foresight are just a ploy to see how much money they can extract from deep pockets.

Larry N. said:

I truly get the feeling that some of these 20/20 hindsight expectations of 20/20 foresight are just a ploy to see how much money they can extract from deep pockets.

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I agree 100% Larry. If there wasn't deep pockets available here I don't think there would be any law suits filed.
The only people that will get any money out of this tragedy is the lawyers.

I've no doubt that deep pockets tend to attract the Lawyers, and it makes my stomach turn sometimes.  If what I read is correct,  there were Severe Storm Warnings issued by the National Weather Service about 45 minutes before the boat went down.  Table Rock was specifically mentioned in the warning.  If the Captains didn't know about them, we might understand their decision to enter the water.  But if they had the warning and went ahead anyway, there just may be enough negligence to give the Legals just what they need to proceed. 

That sounds suspiciously like foresight, if correct. There is at least 1 airport with up to the minute weather info near Branson as I remember. The FAA usually has the best weather forecast data in the country. If one is going to take people on an expedition they should use all available data to be as certain as possible of a safe out come. A couple of posts above sound like they are excusing using less than the best data available. I sincerely hope I mistaken in that observation.
RichH

BigLarry said:

I've no doubt that deep pockets tend to attract the Lawyers, and it makes my stomach turn sometimes.  If what I read is correct,  there were Severe Storm Warnings issued by the National Weather Service about 45 minutes before the boat went down.  Table Rock was specifically mentioned in the warning.  If the Captains didn't know about them, we might understand their decision to enter the water.  But if they had the warning and went ahead anyway, there just may be enough negligence to give the Legals just what they need to proceed. 

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Fixed quote    -scottydl

I live about 30 miles north of Branson. We had the same weather forecast that Branson did BUT while the radar showed the storm approaching it DID NOT show the wind that preceded the actual storm.  We encountered very severe winds at least 15 minutes before we had any rain.  The local weather guys said the winds were 15 to 20 miles in front of the storm and were not showing on radar.  Those winds did some damage in our neighborhood in the form of flattening a few fence sections and taking down some small trees.  My son lives in Branson and he said they had the same conditions there - high winds well before the actual rainfall.  We have frequently attended shows on the Branson Belle showboat and ridden three times on the duck boats.  I will admit one thing.  I was never comfortable with the location of the life preservers.  They were reachable above your head and the kids preservers were all bunched together towards the back.  You definitely would have needed advance warning to put them on and be ready for a submersion.  I never sensed any danger on a duck boat but can see how such an unusual event could result in this tragedy.

Bill

Three years later...

3 men charged over 2018 fatal Missouri tourist boat accident​

I really doubt they will get a conviction, while terrible, by all accounts from what I have read it was a seemingly nice day before they entered the water with only vague strong chance of thunderstorms during the day weather advisory. Though it is possible a more severe advisory was issues as they were entering the water give or take 1-2 mintues. Its not like they entered the water during a storm as this article suggests.

Ok reading through the thread
Regarding the comments on life jackets
I am sure the boat had Life jackets
The Captain advised they are not (normally) required, of course the boat does not (normally) Sink... Many people do not have the mental discipline/knowledge to put on a life jacket when it is NEEDED.
But I'm sure they were there.

As to a case against the captain of the boat that did not sink.
Two boats Two captains.. Only one of them may have more accurately been called "Admiral" in that he was the Head captain and the other was his trainee. I simply do not know if that's how they did it.

But This I do know Lawyers will WIN,, Big time.