A jury awarded $21.7 million to the family of a boater who was killed while entering a channel en route to a marina.
Rene Karoussos, 45, was operating his 31-foot open hull Cobra Catamaran powerboat near the entrance to Bell Channel off the Port Lucaya marina in Freeport, Bahamas. As the boat approached the channel’s entrance, it struck a buoy. The impact threw Karoussos against the boat’s windshield and into the water. The estate claimed it was a dark evening and the buoy light had been inoperable for weeks. It claimed that instead of the buoy guiding boaters through the channel, it became a dangerous floating object. It also claimed Karoussos was an experienced boater.
