Could I be sued??

[yipiekaya]

if some one gets hurt, and your equipment was involved,( even if not yours if you arranged it ,lawyers use the shot gun approach to sueing ,, .. and some settle out of court some fight it,,..can you afford to settle , can you afford the time and the cost for a defense attorney to protect you in court,,...


CYA

COVER YOUR ASSets.........................

I am not demonstrating how to do something. I am briefing about the sight and answering general questions.


So if I loan someone my extra computer and they hurt/kill themselves using it, I'm at fault??

 

[Juls64]

As a DM, while I am working as a DM, I do not loan out equipment. That is for the shop and instructors to do.

While fun diving with my dive club or just a group, do I loan equipment? You betcha. Thats what friends do.

Julie

 

[Randy43068]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, Andy!

I knew there was a good reason to be broke.

Let me say that I'm not a lawyer. I didn't even sleep in a Holiday Inn last night.

Think of it like this. Say someone gets hurt somehow. They stubb their toe or get bent or something else bad happens. A lawyer chases them down looking for someone to sue. YOU will Probably be on the list of people who is named on a lawsuit.

You may not be found liable, but it could cost you a ton of money to defend yourself.

So, yes you could be sued, and you could be dismissed from the suit, but it's going to cost you a whole lot of money in legal fees to make that happen.

Then again, nothing bad may happen at all.

However, I'd ask a local lawyer for his thoughts on the matter.

Randy

 

[archman]

You may not be found liable, but it could cost you a ton of money to defend yourself.

So, yes you could be sued, and you could be dismissed from the suit, but it's going to cost you a whole lot of money in legal fees to make that happen.

And therein lies the basal flaw in the U.S. legal system. Even if you're innocent, you're still a victim.

 

[kent_1848]

Find a lawyer friend, or anyone in the dive group that knows a lawyer, or just pay a lawyer to make up an ironclad waiver. It would be cheaper than having to defend yourself ever.

 

[Randy43068]

question about that.

And therein lies the basal flaw in the U.S. legal system. Even if you're innocent, you're still a victim.

 

[pipedope]

The reality in America is that anyone can sue at any time for any reason.

It may not go anywhere at all or it may go on forever.

In many cases having insurance makes it worse because that is a source of money for someone to grab. The bigger the policy the worse it is.

If the people who want to sue you have money for lawyers they can tie you up nearly forever. If they have political connections they get laws passed to move things into a different court to drag it out even more.

If you don't have much of value the likelyhood of a suit is very small unless someone is simply out to ruin you in which case there isn't much you can do to prevent it.

 

[Parrothead_Diver]

So if I loan someone my extra computer and they hurt/kill themselves using it, I'm at fault??

More than likely... YEP.

IMO this is very similar to the crazy liability laws that would allow a burglar who, in the middle of the night, trips over your coffee table, breaks his leg, and requires 17 stiches to his forehead to sue you for damages.

 

[michaelp68]

Rick, I'm not giving you legal advice, but I agree with Andy's thoughts.

My thoughts are that yes, you can be sued for what you are doing.

Assets that you possess and insurance coverage both come into play and affect whether a lawyer might bring a claim against you.

Waivers might help and you should consult with an attorney who practices in the area where you live and dive.

If a non-professional diver was conducting scuba activities in Connecticut similar to what you have described, a participant was seriously hurt and then that participant or a surviving family member walked in my office door to discuss a possible case, I can tell you that as a newer scuba diver who appreciates the efforts made by local experienced divers, I'd be extremely reluctant to pursue a case, and I would probably try to discourage it.

But for the sake of discussion, if I detach myself from the bias that I have to protect scuba divers and the scuba industry, I can say I'd be able to come up with a strong case depending on the specifics of what you did/did not do and on the facts of what happened.

Waivers, assets and insurance coverage all might affect a decision to take such a case, but the short answer is yes, you might be sued.

Michael

 

[jonnythan]

You don't need to be at fault to be sued, someone just needs to be able to blame you.. and then you lose by having to defend yourself. You really lose if someone can convince a judge or jury that you had something to do with an accident.. like improperly installing a hose on a regulator that led to an OOA incident and subsequent death.