November 8, 2012

Plummeting temperatures throughout Pennsylvania recently caused water to become dangerously frigid, and the icy waters of Lake Arthur may have claimed a life already. CBS-Pittsburgh reported the body of a 52-year-old Prospect, Pennsylvania, man was found in the lake over the weekend after he had gone missing more than a week before.

Authorities believe the man may have been preparing for a raccoon hunting trip along the shores of the lake, when he either went overboard or entered the water to retrieve his vessel. Regardless, the man was overcome with hypothermia after the Pennsylvania boating accident and drowned. His boat, with a life jacket inside, was found the next day.

To combat Pennsylvania boating accidents like this, a new law was recently enacted by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, which states that from November 1until April 30, all boaters are required to wear a life jacket while on boats less than 16 feet in length, or any canoe or kayak. The law was passed after experts found 80 percent of all boating fatalities involved a failure to wear a life preserver, with a disproportionate number of those adverse events taking place in the months between November and April. A majority of those accidents were attributed to cold-water immersion.

The Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyers with Lundy Law would like to remind all boaters to always wear a life preserver when you are on a boat!