After a deadly boating crash in the Naples and Fort Myers area, a Naples boating accident lawsuit typically comes from two directions: a survivor suing for their injuries, and the family of someone who died suing for wrongful death. Both are civil claims for money damages, and in Southwest Florida they usually name the boat’s operator or owner, or — when the operator also died — that person’s estate. The litigation filed after the November 29, 2025 catamaran crash on the Caloosahatchee River shows how these cases take shape.
Who Files and Who Gets Sued
Two suits followed the Caloosahatchee crash, which killed three people and critically injured a fourth. Neal Kirby, the sole survivor, sued the estate of Craig Millett, the boat’s owner, alleging Millett’s negligent operation caused Kirby’s injuries. The sisters of Rebecca Knight, one of the passengers who died, filed a separate wrongful death action against the estates of both Craig and Brenna Millett.1News-Press. Lawsuit Reveals Details in Deadly SW FL Boat Crash as Mediation Looms Both complaints seek damages exceeding $50,000 and demand a jury trial.
Suing an estate rather than a living defendant changes the mechanics of a case in ways plaintiffs need to understand. The claims are pursued against whatever assets the estate holds, and Florida maritime law allows an owner’s estate to seek to limit liability to the post-accident value of the vessel. In the Caloosahatchee crash, the impact tore both engines off the hull, so what remains of the boat could matter to the eventual recovery.
What Plaintiffs Have to Show
A negligence claim after a boat crash turns on how the vessel was being handled and whether that conduct fell below the standard of a reasonable operator. Speed, control, weather conditions, equipment, and whether passengers had appropriate safety gear all become evidence. Witnesses told investigators the Caloosahatchee catamaran was traveling about 80 mph when it flipped, and some reported it appeared to be racing another boat.2The Maine Wire. Florida Speedboat Was Going 80 MPH When It Flipped Over3WGME. 3 People With Maine Ties Killed in Speed Boat Crash in Florida Only one person aboard was reportedly wearing a rigid safety vest. Those are the kinds of facts a jury would weigh.
Defendants have several standard responses, and the Caloosahatchee case shows the main ones in play. Craig Millett’s estate has asked the court to exonerate him from liability, arguing he was not negligent and that the boat was properly equipped. Brenna Millett’s estate denies she was an owner or operator of the vessel at all, and separately raises comparative negligence, contending the survivor’s own conduct contributed to his injuries.1News-Press. Lawsuit Reveals Details in Deadly SW FL Boat Crash as Mediation Looms Under Florida’s comparative fault rules, a plaintiff’s share of blame reduces what they can recover.
Mediation Before Trial
Florida civil cases like these usually route through mediation before a trial date. All parties in the Caloosahatchee lawsuits agreed to attend mediation on September 16, 2026, roughly ten months after the crash.1News-Press. Lawsuit Reveals Details in Deadly SW FL Boat Crash as Mediation Looms Mediation is a private, non-binding negotiation session run by a neutral mediator; if it produces a settlement, the case ends. If it doesn’t, the case proceeds toward trial, where the central questions in a crash like this one become who was actually operating the boat, how fast it was going, and whether that conduct amounted to negligence.
How the State Investigation Fits In
A civil lawsuit runs on its own track from the state investigation, but the two are connected. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has jurisdiction over boating accident investigations and led the response to the Caloosahatchee crash with early help from the Lee County Marine Emergency Response Team and the U.S. Coast Guard.4ABC News. 3 Killed in Catamaran Accident on Florida River FWC investigators look at GPS data, engine performance records, and other recoverable evidence.5WINK News. FWC Continues to Investigate Tragic Boat Crash Which Left 3 Dead, One Injured
FWC does not release findings while a case is open. More than six months after the Caloosahatchee crash, the agency’s public information officer told the News-Press the investigation was “still ongoing” and that the commission does not provide updates mid-investigation to avoid interference.6News-Press. Six Months Since Boat Crash Killed 3 in Cape Coral, Still No Answers Records requests for the driver’s identity, toxicology and autopsy results, speed data, and surveillance footage went unanswered. For civil plaintiffs, that means the lawsuit often has to move forward on witness accounts and independent expert work rather than waiting for an official cause determination.
Florida Law Changes That Affect These Cases
Senate Bill 1388, the Boater Freedom Act, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on May 19, 2025, reshaped how boating safety is enforced in Florida.7Office of the Governor. Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Florida’s Boater Freedom Act The law prohibits law enforcement from boarding or stopping a vessel without probable cause of a safety violation, ends random compliance checks, and reclassifies safety equipment violations as secondary offenses.8Florida Senate. SB 1388 Bill Text It also created a voluntary “Florida Freedom Boater” inspection decal; vessels displaying a valid decal cannot be stopped solely for an equipment check absent reasonable suspicion of a specific violation. Critics have argued the law removes tools that helped prevent the kind of crash that occurred on the Caloosahatchee.9Naples Daily News. SW Florida Boating Safety Concerns as Deaths Climb With More Boaters The change matters to civil suits because pre-crash inspections and citations that once produced a paper trail are now less likely to exist.
The broader risk picture in the region is not small. Florida recorded 685 reportable boating accidents and 81 deaths in 2024, a 37 percent increase in fatalities over the prior year, and 65 percent of operators involved in fatal crashes had no formal boating safety training.9Naples Daily News. SW Florida Boating Safety Concerns as Deaths Climb With More Boaters10St. Augustine Record. Florida Leads the Nation in the Number of Annual Boating Fatalities Lee and Collier counties alone account for roughly 75,000 registered vessels. For anyone injured on the water or grieving a family member, those numbers translate into a steady stream of civil claims moving through the Southwest Florida courts on the same basic path: complaint, answer, discovery, mediation, and, only if mediation fails, trial.