To compound the problem, an attorney will immediately hear of the accident, contact the kayaker(s), take the case on a contingency basis meaning no cash out of pocket to the idiot kayaker and they'll be a lawsuit against the boater regardless of whose at fault. In most cases the insurance companies settles to avoid prolonged and excessive legal expense or potentially an adverse judgment. The judicial system and ambulance chaser attorneys are as much to blame for this behavior as the idiots are who think they can go out on the water at night in stealth mode and assume no responsibility for their actions.