PWC explodes at Stony Point Bay Marina

True enough, John, it just seems so different from what people's perceptions would be of something like that...
 
Butch,
The seat blew into the air and into the water. It was fished out and was in one piece. I think it helped to protect the owner. It was said he leaned over to start the jet ski. The man was transported to the hospital. He was awake and responsive when we were there. He was defnately lucky. The explosion sounded like a canon on the hill at Stony Point. I actually felt the shockwave as I was walking down the dock when it happened, however I did not see it as it happened.
 
Wow. Was the guy pulled out of the water? Either that or took a dive onto the dock?

Geez, I even pull the cover off my old 5 horse outboard I use on the dink to make sure there are no leaks or other issues before pulling the cord.

Agreed, PWC's should have some sort of positive air flow device, blower etc. Never owned one but always wondered what if.....

Is this guy ok? Any news around your marina about his condition?
 
He was seen wobbling on the dock before collapsing. I don't believe anyone saw the exact time of the incident but many felt it and then called for help and went to his aid.

Starry Night or his wife called 911, I forgot whom. I haven't heard anything else about the guys condition and searching some of the local news sites has nothing about this accident.
 
I was sitting on the deck by the pool, as in the past I thought the boom was a cannon from Stony Point Battle field, so I turned my head, to see a seat high in the air, as my eyes were watching the seat come down, my eyes saw a man stumbling and fall onto the dock. Bare feet I started running, yelling back to my wife CALL 911. As I arrived he was laying on his back awake but stunned. He thought he was hurt badly. His burns were to his chest hair and his neck. He said he smelled gas, as he went to the machine, but could not locate the source. He thought it was comming from another jetski. He lifted the seat and didn't seem to see anything. He put the seat back down, leaned over and pushed the starter. The seat hit him in the chest. Seems the seat soften the blow to his body.
 
All things considered, he's a lucky man. If he sticks to the story that he sniffed and the test passed, he will probably win a lawsuit. Then you will see blowers on jetskis. Some of those things have to be as big as boats that require them. Certainly some have as much horsepower.
 
Why would he win a lawsuit? He smelled gas and started it anyway?
 
Because the safety procedure is inadequate to prevent personal injury. The product is not safe. We can put gas in our cars everyday and turn the key. If all that is required is a sniff test to ensure safety, and that fails, I say he has a shot at it because the manufacturer has not made a good effort to prevent injury and property damage.
 
That's true Dan - if he gets a good lawyer this guy will be owning a Hatteras soon. And we'll have blowers in our jet ski bilges to boot...
 
Does anyone take responsibilty for thier own actions anymore without blame of inherent danger bieng put on someone elese ?
 
I mean don't get me wrong (I feel terrible for that guy and hope he is ok ) but you have to draw a line somewhere , getting sue crazy ain't the answere and just scrwes everyone in the end anyway.I dug for a swimming pool just 2 years ago in rockland ,the guy knows I'm there, watches me digging it, I put bright orange construction fence all around the hole , politely remind the guy a few times to stay away & he kicks me off the job the next day after telling me his daughter hurt herself by falling in the hole.
Make a long story short after 4 trips to the courthouse I settled for what I STILL DON'T KNOW.
They knew I did everything possible to avoid any danger to anyone ,but seemed like it did no good , I know the guy lied and sued on purpose , but can't prove that .
No one wanted to hear about the idiot parent not watching his 7 year old kid . of corse I DID NOT WANT TO SEE ANYONE GET HURT ,I offered to pay any damages plus no charge for my labor and the guy woulden't even talk to me .
Almost as stupid as the lady who sued Mc Donalds for burning her mouth on hot coffie. ( I guess the people who will argue that , are the same idiots who need a warning on a cup to tell them it's hot)
Doing something on purpose is one thing but getting sue happy is another . What ? You dont think the operator manual doesn't have about a million warnings about that stuff , it's a terrible accident and don't wish it on anyone but you shoulden't be able to sue over it. JON
 
" If he sticks to the story that he sniffed and the test passed, he will probably win a lawsuit. "

Yep, the good old law suit ... something happens and right away we hear law suit ... Yep, I smelled gas ... checked and it wasn't my boat ... BOOM .... looks like he did not check quite qood enough. I have a jet ski, I am aware that there is no blower and understand the possible risk, and I acceped that risk when I bought the jet ski. I also understand that that jet ski can reach 60+ MPH and I accept that risk also.
 
Hear ya loud and clear on that one . I wonder what Hogan thinks on that subject since he is in that field ? Besides bieng funny and kidding aroud , I value his advice on serious issues, he has a good way of bringing things into perspective for numb- skulls like me... Jon
 
Gang don't get me wrong, I don't condone the behavior of suing every time something goes wrong in your life. It's just that it seems to be common, even acceptable, practice these days.

That's why we need tort suit reform.

And as soon as it is cast, expect a challenge that will over turn it.

But in this case, the society we have has become accustomed to gasoline because of all of the safety devices we have. Everyone thinks it's safe. Heck, how many times have you seen Joe A$$hole smoking a cigarette while he fills his car??
 
If the juries stopped awarding money on baseless cases, the suing would stop. Don't blame the lawyers, blame your "peers"
 
Not taking you the wrong way Dan and from the short time I met you thier is no doubt in my mind your NOT that kind ofsue crazy guy, I was just sayiny people need to understand risk and not blame others to quickly. There may be factors involved we don't know about and someone getting hurt is a terrible thing to hear.

Hogan , I ain't blameing lawyers especially the good ones who deffend our rights, my guy saved my but a few times a guy sued a commerical parking lot I plow under contract and have insurance for they took me to court as well as the property owner who skated on his contract with me . In the end my lawyer got his med records a proved an old injury to his back he got next to nothing which is all he deserved, he was scamming.( is it my fault this jackass goes to the supermarket during a blizzard to get milk and slips) I gave up plowing commercially cause I became a high insurance risk from all the people trying to sue me over car damages that never happended , hard to prove , seems like guilty untill proven innocent , not the other way around. (I paid for more windshields than you can imagine cause some dirtbag calls me after getting my name and number off my dump truck saying a stone fell out and broke it when I was never they say I was, after a while you just give up - so thank god for good lawyers in this day and age& f the bad ones)
A friend of mine plows the palisades mall lot and goes through it all the time even with all the fancy cammeras & a clarkstown police station there he has had plows and equiptment stolen right out of the parking lot.
 
A better reason for a lawsuit would be to determine where the gas leak came from. Obviously Jet Skis don't usually blow up (or else all the bozos that you see riding them - no offense to dedicated jet ski owners - would blow up all the time!). If a component on the ski was faulty and it wasn't due to owner negligence he's got a suit against the manufacturer and/or the dealer/repair shop. And that would be legitimate, IMHO...
 
Jon you are right I am not suit crazy, but I can believe there is always a good chance one will be born out of an accident like this.
We smell gas on the creek so much we wonder why it doesn't happen more frequently.
 
Pete

That PWC is a number of years old. Not sure of the year but more than 2 or 3. PWC's take quite a bit of abuse and produce LOTS of vibration. Checking for lose fuel lines and worn hoses is the PWC owners responsibility not the manufacturers. Can't expect the manufacturer to be there to check for vapors each time a PWC is started.

If I was on the jury the mere fact that the guy admitted smelling gas and did not confirm the source before trying to start the craft makes the responsibility 100% his in my mind.
 
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