New York Man Sues Jet Ride After Falling Off Jet Ski In Boynton Beach

New York Man Sues Jet Ride After Falling Off Jet Ski

BOYNTON BEACH, FL (Boca Post) — A New York man visits his grandfather in Boynton Beach. He goes jet-skiing with the grandfather’s neighbors where he gets injured. Now, the New York man is suing the Jet Ride, the boat club that rented him the Jet Ski.

Jet Ride, a locally owned boat club with several locations around Palm Beach County, is being sued by a tourist from New York after he was injured from falling off a jet ski. The lawsuit names the neighbors who invited the New York man jet skiing as well as Travis Zielasko and Ryan O’Mara, the owners of Jet Ride.

The following is taken directly from the newly filed lawsuit against:

In June of 2019, Vincent Taddeo traveled from New York to Florida to visit his
grandfather. During the visit, one of his grandfather’s neighbors introduced him to Eduardo Padilla
and John Doe. The three struck up a conversation that resulted in Mr. Padilla and Mr. Doe inviting Mr. Taddeo out to ride jet skis. Mr. Taddeo accepted the invitation.

On June 6, 2019, shortly after meeting Mr. Padilla and Mr. Doe, Mr. Taddeo arrived at
Suntex Marina at The Moorings to meet them for a day of jet skiing. He made his way past the Jet Ride office and down to the dock where Jet Ride kept its boats and jet skis. There he met several Jet Ride employees. Mr. Taddeo explained to them, as he had explained to Mr. Padilla and Mr. Doe, that he had never ridden a jet ski before, but the employees assured him that he would be fine. Minutes after he arrived at the dock, the Jet Ride employees provided him with a jet ski and sent him on his way with Mr. Padilla and Mr. Doe. Neither the Jet Ride employees, Mr. Padilla, nor Mr. Doe provided Mr. Taddeo with any instructions for operating the jet ski safely.

Minutes after arriving, Mr. Taddeo left the Jet Ride dock with Mr. Padilla and Mr. Doe and ventured out into the territorial waters of Palm Beach County. At the end of the day the group headed back to the dock, but along the way, Mr. Padilla and Mr. Doe began riding much faster than Mr. Taddeo was comfortable riding, and they left him behind and unsupervised. As he made his way back to the dock alone, Mr. Taddeo’s jet ski’s steering malfunctioned, causing it to suddenly turn hard to the right and throwing him off the left side of the jet ski.

As he was thrown off, his left ankle, which was inside the port side footwell, was shattered. Mr. Taddeo’s ankle was so badly injured that he could not climb back onto the jet ski. He floated in the water for roughly twenty minutes before Mr. Padilla and Mr. Doe returned and found him. Neither Mr. Taddeo nor the jet ski was capable of driving, so Mr. Doe attached a rope between his jet ski and Mr. Taddeo’s, and towed Mr. Taddeo back to shore where they were met by a West Palm Beach Fire Rescue unit. Mr. Taddeo eventually underwent surgery in which doctors used metal plates and screws to put his ankle back together. He has still not fully recovered.

Taddeo is now suing the owners of Jet Ride as well as the two individuals who invited him to go jet skiing. Taddeo and his lawyer are claiming negligence:

• Failing to provide adequate pre-rental or pre-ride instructions to the operator(s) of the Vessel;
• Failing to adequately train its personnel;
• Failing to provide adequately trained personnel to provide adequate pre-rental or pre-ride instructions to the operator(s) of the Vessel;
• Failing to inspect the Vessel for unseaworthy conditions;
• Failing to maintain proper and adequate safety equipment aboard the subject Vessel;
• Failing to adequately maintain the Vessel; Failing to ensure the safety of the Vessel;
• Failing to adequately ascertain and/or confirm the ability of the operator(s) of the Vessel before entrusting the Vessel;
• Failing to adequately supervise the operation of the Vessel;
• Failing to provide adequate training and/or instruction to Plaintiff;
• Failing to adequately restrict the operation of the Vessel to the qualified operator(s);
• Failing to adequately warn of the hazards of the operation of personal watercraft in general and, more specifically, the subject Vessel;
• Failing to provide a learning key to the Vessel;
• Failing to perform a pre-ride inspection of the Vessel;
• Failing to warn of the lack of directional control of the Vessel while in use;
• Failing to adequately advise of safe stopping distances necessary to safely operate the subject Vessel including, but not limited to the fact that stopping distance will vary depending on initial speed, load, wind, number of riders, and water conditions;
• Failing to conduct a pre-ride visual evaluation of the proficiency of operator(s) before entrusting the Vessel;
• Failing to promulgate and/or enforce adequate policies and procedures to ensure the safe entrustment of the Vessel to a qualified operator(s);
• Failing to promulgate and/or enforce adequate training and/or supervision to ensure the safe entrustment of the Vessel to a qualified operator(s);
• Failing to provide proper safety equipment aboard the Vessel; Failing to provide adequate safety training to the operator(s) of the Vessel;
• Failing to adequately warn the operator(s) of the Vessel of risks associated with operating a PWC;
• Failing to conduct a proper and adequate pre-ride visual evaluation of the proficiency of the PWC operators;
• Failing to comply with Federal and state regulations, statutes, and codes with respect to its group PWC tours, including but not limited to Fla.Stat.§327.54, Fla.Stat.§327.39, Fla. Admin. Code §68D-36.107 thereby constituting negligence per se; and/or Other negligent acts and/or omissions learned in discovery.

The lawsuit is in its early stages as it was just filed this week. Boca Post will update this article as more information becomes available. Check back here for updates.