Boating Accident at Lake Powell or Lake Mary: Reports, Responsibility and Your Injury Claim

By Joe Styler, Editor, not an attorney · Sources checked October 24, 2026

Short answer: after a boating accident in Arizona that injures or kills someone, the operator must stop, help and exchange information, and a written report goes to the Arizona Game and Fish Department within 48 hours. On Lake Powell, which is inside a national recreation area, the National Park Service also requires a report within 24 hours. The injured person’s claim is an injury claim against whoever caused the crash, and the lawsuit deadline in Arizona is generally two years.

Boating injuries do not look like car crash injuries on paper. There is no lane line, no traffic signal, and there may be no officer at the scene at all. What there is instead: a statute that sets out what each operator must do, reporting rules at both the state and federal level, and a few rules about personal watercraft that read almost like a checklist of what careless operation looks like. This page puts those together for people hurt at Lake Powell near Page, at Lake Mary outside Flagstaff, or elsewhere in Northern Arizona.

LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT: This site is an independent referral service operated by Wilder West Assets LLC, not a law firm. We connect people injured in Coconino County with independent licensed Arizona attorneys who handle personal injury claims. Nothing on this page is legal advice.

What every operator must do after a crash

A.R.S. § 5-349 applies to the operator of any watercraft involved in a collision, accident or other casualty. To the extent it can be done without serious danger to their own boat or passengers, the operator must:

1. Stop immediately at the scene, or as close to it as possible, and return to it.
2. Give all practical and necessary assistance to the people affected.
3. Stay at the scene until they have given their name and address and the identification of their watercraft to anyone injured and to the owners of any damaged property.

An operator who fails to stop after a crash that causes death or serious physical injury commits a class 5 felony; for other injuries it is a class 6 felony. If the boat that hit you left, report it and write down every detail you can about the boat, its color, its registration numbers and its passengers.

The reports, and who they go to

Report	When	Rule
Arizona Game and Fish, injury or death	Within 48 hours	A.R.S. § 5-349(C); A.A.C. R12-4-513(C)
Arizona Game and Fish, property damage over $500 only	Within 5 days	A.A.C. R12-4-513(D)
National Park Service (Lake Powell), injury, death, disappearance or $2,000+ damage	As soon as practical, within 24 hours	36 CFR 3.5
Federal Coast Guard reporting rule	48 hours for death within 24 hours, injury beyond first aid, or disappearance; 10 days otherwise	33 CFR 173.55

The Game and Fish form can be delivered, mailed or emailed to the department’s Law Enforcement Branch, and filing a report with the park superintendent may satisfy the other reporting requirements, under 36 CFR 3.5(c). One rule matters a lot for an injury claim: under § 5-349(C), the written reports made to Game and Fish cannot be used as evidence in any civil or criminal trial arising from the incident. The facts still have to be proved another way, which is why your own photos, witness names and records matter.

Who can be responsible

• The operator of the other boat or personal watercraft, for careless operation. Arizona’s personal watercraft statute, § 5-350(C), lists conduct that is prima facie evidence of reckless operation when two or more happen together: coming within 60 feet of another vessel at speed, blocking another operator’s view, jumping a nearby boat’s wake, and sharp turns or swerves close to another vessel.
• The operator of the boat you were on, if you were a passenger. Passengers can claim against their own boat’s operator, and against another boat’s operator if both share fault.
• An owner who let someone operate in violation of the rules. Under § 5-350(F), a person who owns, leases or controls a personal watercraft must not authorize or knowingly permit it to be operated in violation of that section.
• An impaired operator. Operating under the influence is a crime under A.R.S. § 5-395. Our page on boating DUI in Arizona covers the criminal side; a conviction does not replace your injury claim.

Arizona’s comparative fault law, A.R.S. § 12-2505, applies here as on the road: being partly at fault reduces a recovery rather than barring it, and each defendant pays only its share under § 12-2506.

Lake Powell is federal water

Lake Powell lies inside Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, run by the National Park Service and stretching from Lees Ferry in Arizona into southern Utah. The Park Service adopts Coast Guard boating rules and non-conflicting state boating laws on its waters (36 CFR 3.2) and has its own impaired-operation rule. The Park Service also warns that wakes and waves bounce between canyon walls and that compression injuries from bouncing on wakes are common on the lake. Two practical consequences: where on the lake the accident happened, Arizona side or Utah side, can matter, and some boating injury claims raise federal maritime law questions. A lawyer will sort out which law and which court apply.

What to gather

• Location: GPS pin, marina, cove name, or a photo of the nearest landmark. Note whether you were near Wahweap, Antelope Point or elsewhere.
• Names, phone numbers and registration numbers for every boat and operator involved.
• Your copy of any report to Game and Fish or the Park Service, and the name of any ranger or officer you spoke with.
• Rental paperwork if either boat was rented, including any safety briefing you signed.
• Photos of injuries, both boats, and life jacket use.
• Medical records from the first visit on. Back and neck injuries from wake impacts can worsen over the following days. See who pays the medical bills.
• A calendar entry two years from the date, and 180 days if a government vessel or property is involved.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to report a boating accident in Arizona?

Yes, when someone is injured or killed, or property damage exceeds 500 dollars. A written report goes to the Arizona Game and Fish Department within 48 hours for injury or death, and within five days for property damage only.

Do I have to report a boating accident on Lake Powell to the Park Service?

Yes. Under 36 CFR 3.5, an accident on park waters involving injury, death, a disappearance or at least 2,000 dollars in damage must be reported to the superintendent as soon as practical and within 24 hours.

Can the boating accident report be used in my injury case?

Not the Arizona report. A.R.S. 5-349 says the written watercraft casualty reports made to Game and Fish cannot be used as evidence in any civil or criminal trial arising from the incident. The facts have to be proved with other evidence, such as photos, witnesses and records.

How long do I have to file a boating accident claim in Arizona?

Arizona generally allows two years to file an injury lawsuit under A.R.S. 12-542. If a government entity may be responsible, a notice of claim is due within 180 days.

Can a passenger sue the driver of their own boat?

Yes. A passenger can bring a claim against the operator of the boat they were on, and against another boat’s operator if both contributed. Each pays its own share of fault.

What counts as reckless operation of a jet ski in Arizona?

A.R.S. 5-350 lists acts that are prima facie evidence of reckless operation when two or more happen together, such as coming within 60 feet of another vessel at speed, jumping a nearby boat’s wake, or swerving sharply close to another vessel.

Related guides

• Flagstaff personal injury guide
• Boating DUI in Arizona
• Slip and fall on snow or ice in Flagstaff
• Dog bites in Flagstaff
• Wrongful death claims after a fatal crash

Hurt on the water? Free and confidential

Boating claims start with short reporting clocks and a mix of state and federal rules. We’ll connect you with an independent licensed Arizona attorney who handles injury claims in Northern Arizona.