Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
As a diver going out with a buddy to do a regular dive, what is each divers responsibility to the other for safety, rescue, etc.
I ask this because in our litigation crazy society it seems that anybody can be sued for anything.
If two divers go out and something happens to one, and the buddy is either incapable of rescue or perhaps has not been trained in rescue and CPR, what recourse does the injured party have?
Besides gross negligence like for instance inadvertantly shooting a buddy with a spear gun, I don't see any recourse for something that happens to a buddy if it's not directly caused by the other diver. Isn't each diver completely responsible for themselves and their own safety if the buddy team is just diving as equals and friends?
I've had some hairy experiences with buddies in the past. With one it was a miracle nothing happened to him while we were diving. That one incident in particular caused me to swear off buddy diving and go strictly solo ever since. Now I'm relaxing a little more and trending towards wanting to share dives once again with people. I miss the commeraderie and the social aspect of buddy diving.
So I want to know the hard facts.
Maybe somebody has a story or fact they can share that can shed some light on this issue.
I ask this because in our litigation crazy society it seems that anybody can be sued for anything.
If two divers go out and something happens to one, and the buddy is either incapable of rescue or perhaps has not been trained in rescue and CPR, what recourse does the injured party have?
Besides gross negligence like for instance inadvertantly shooting a buddy with a spear gun, I don't see any recourse for something that happens to a buddy if it's not directly caused by the other diver. Isn't each diver completely responsible for themselves and their own safety if the buddy team is just diving as equals and friends?
I've had some hairy experiences with buddies in the past. With one it was a miracle nothing happened to him while we were diving. That one incident in particular caused me to swear off buddy diving and go strictly solo ever since. Now I'm relaxing a little more and trending towards wanting to share dives once again with people. I miss the commeraderie and the social aspect of buddy diving.
So I want to know the hard facts.
Maybe somebody has a story or fact they can share that can shed some light on this issue.