Fatal Boating Accident Leads to Three Lawsuits | Virginia Wrongful Death Lawyer

A third lawsuit has been filed this month in connection with a Connecticut boating accident that caused brain injuries to two and tragically killed one, according to the New Haven Register. Exactly one year after the tragic boating accident, 22-year-old accident victim Elizabeth “Libby” Protzman filed a lawsuit against the boat's operator, Arthur King Hall, who was allegedly drunk at the time of the fatal accident. Protzman suffered severe injuries in the boating crash, including brain trauma, a concussion, loss of consciousness, post-traumatic stress disorder, and multiple contusions, hematomas, and lacerations. Another injured victim from the boat crash, 22-year-old Devon Hardy, suffered contusions of the brain, coma, memory loss, other cognitive and neurological problems, and other injuries. Twenty-four year old Jonathan Cook was pronounced dead at the scene and suffered a skull fracture, brain hemorrhaging, and multiple abrasions. Both the Hardy and Cook families filed lawsuits against the alleged drunk boat operator this May.

Specifically, all three lawsuits charge that Hall was negligent and reckless, not only speeding, but also operating the vessel under the influence of alcohol, failing to "maintain a proper lookout," and failing to turn or stop the boat to avoid colliding with a seawall. The blood-alcohol content of the 25-year-old vessel operator was four times the legal limit after the incident, and he was arrested and faces charges of second-degree manslaughter, among other charges.

As a brain injury lawyer and wrongful death attorney, Lawrence Land expresses his deepest sympathies to these accident victims and their families. If you have questions about brain injuries or wrongful death cases in Newport News, Eastern Shore, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, or another part of Virginia, feel free to contact Norfolk brain injury attorney Lawrence Land for free resources and answers to your specific questions. To contact Lawrence Land, fill out his confidential contact form or call him toll-free at 800-800-1911.