In 2007, a 21 year-old woman was vacationing at a resort in the Bahamas when she decided to ride on a Jet Ski, the most widely-used personal watercraft.  Unfortunately, she slipped off the back of the watercraft and was eviscerated by the high-pressure stream of water that powers the vehicle.  She suffered serious permanent injuries to the vagina, anus and rectum.

Through the years, a number of men and women have suffered similar injuries to the groin and abdominal area – one of the least publicized dangers in the recreational boating industry.  During the 1980s, a 16 year-old male riding as a passenger in France fell behind the jet nozzle while the watercraft was jumping a wave. He suffered a severe rectal injury that resulted in death.  In 1990, the jet stream from a personal watercraft ripped open the vagina of a 17 year-old woman who was riding as a passenger.  She survived after receiving prompt medical attention to stop the bleeding.

Because these types of abdominal accidents have received little attention from the media, most owners and operators of personal watercraft are unaware of the risk of death or permanent injury.  Certainly, the danger of falling backwards directly into the jet stream never seems to be mentioned when vacationers rent a watercraft at a U.S. or international resort.  Instead, the water sports rental company will typically recommend wearing a flotation device, a wet suit or protective clothing – an unlikely option in warm-weather vacation destinations. Then, the rental agent will caution the operator to drive safely and avoid high speeds, tight turns and wave-jumping maneuvers. Shortly thereafter, the operator usually races away from the dock and starts maneuvering the craft without the benefit of training or supervision.

Without question, personal watercraft are highly dangerous vehicles, even for a trained professional.  In a 2008 report, the U.S. Coast Guard counted 4,789 boating accidents involving 709 deaths, 3,331 injuries and $54 million in property damage.  Personal watercraft accidents accounted for 23 percent of the total, resulting in 45 deaths and 920 injuries in the prior year. The study noted that the top causes of accidents were operator related: carelessness, inattention, no proper lookout, inexperience, excessive speed and alcohol use.

Those types of operator errors can be deadly, because personal watercraft are designed to achieve speeds of more than 60 mph, with resulting loss of stability and increased risk of flipping over.  Another design issue is that personal watercraft do not have a braking mechanism. Instead, the operator must keep the throttle down and actually accelerate to turn quickly and avoid hazards in the water. However, the natural tendency of most operators is to slow down when facing a hazard. Because this reduces the thrust from the jet nozzle, the operator often cannot turn the craft in time, resulting in a collision with another boat, a dock, a swimmer or the shoreline.

Judging by the high number of personal watercraft accidents resulting in serious injuries – from head trauma to abdominal evisceration – manufacturers must pay far more attention to safety for both drivers and passengers.  One feature would be a reverse thruster that would act as a “brake,” slowing the craft when approaching a hazard. Several manufacturers have begun working on this concept, although “off-throttle steering” remains a problem in the industry.

Another safety improvement would be the installation of a protective seatback that would prevent the driver or passenger from falling directly behind the jet-propelled watercraft.  In the event of a tight turn, an unexpected wave or other mishap, the person riding the craft would fall to the side – an unpleasant, but much safer outcome.

To avoid the needless loss of life and serious injuries, personal watercraft must be redesigned to include far more safety features. It took a public outcry in the 1960s and 1970s for the U.S. automotive industry to add seat belts and air bags. Now, it is time for marine manufacturers to make safety their top priority in designing a new generation of personal watercraft.

– Robert L. Parks is an attorney at the Law Offices of Robert L. Parks, P.L. in Coral Gables, Florida.