
A group of New York vacationers' dream trip turned into a legal battle after a February 11 collision between the Thriller Miami Speedboat and a private vessel near PortMiami sent 13 people to the hospital—among these, four passengers are now filing a lawsuit against the tour operator, Thriller Miami Speedboat Adventures.
The incident, which resulted in 29 total injuries, saw the involvement of multiple emergency agencies including Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the City of Miami Fire Rescue, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U.S. Coast Guard, each responding urgently to the chaotic scene as paramedics hustled to tend to the wounded, one victim even requiring an airlift to Jackson Memorial Hospital, WSVN reported.
Attorneys from Mausner Graham Injury Law PLLC, Thomas Graham and Eric J. Mausner, representing the four New York plaintiffs, are pointing fingers at both Thriller Miami Speedboat Adventures and the private vessel's operator for the collision. "Our clients have suffered fractures, traumatic brain injuries, loss of consciousness, very serious things that’s going to be with them for life," Graham stated in an interview obtained by WSVN, and the attorneys are convinced that the responsibility for maintaining a safe waterway, neglected by both parties involved in the crash, will see both bear liability.
As investigators piece together the cause of the accident and the extent of the negligence, details emerge; footage captured by a victim indicates that the charter may have T-boned the tour boat, or perhaps it was the Thriller boat that veered into the charter's path, Mausner speculates, highlighting the ongoing nature of their investigation which remains crucial for their legal pursuit and has been detailed by NBC Miami.
Despite a signed waiver by the passengers acknowledging the risks of speedboat tours which could "result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, or death," Mausner and Graham are adamant their clients' rights to seek damages remain intact—an assertion bound to stir further contention as Thriller Miami Speedboat Adventures has yet to respond publicly to the accident or the impending lawsuits, with the hovering cloud of legal repercussions threatened to expand as the U.S. Coast Guard's investigation unfolds.