DAN Responds

[scubaozy]

You can point the finger at DAN all you want, but if one does not have the means to cover the bill for medical treatment when things go wrong until insurance can be sorted, kick in, and provide coverage and/or reimbursement, then perhaps one cannot afford to be diving.

Well imho, diving is no different. If you travel abroad and you need to be evacuated due any medical issue, same principles apply. Either you have an insurance you trust and most of the stuff will run cashless because there are established procedures and relations (contractors or partners) your insurance company have in the target country or you will have to have a good credit card anyway as well as savings in the bank.

 

[KEITHB1955]

Abaco Cave Diver Evacuation

Just before Christmas, a DAN member who was diving in Abaco, Bahamas, experienced an incident that resulted in decompression illness. When he contacted DAN and tried to access the benefits […]

dan.org

DAN responds the the issue surrounding Woody from Dive talk.

Same thing happened to me in November, got bent, was taken to an urgent care in Eleuthera Bahamas, after being seen by the onsite doctor, he called Dan and was transferred to Dan Assist, the Doctor on call told them we need a flight for this member, we need to get him to a chamber, he told them that he had examined me and that I had been hit with DCS, after that we were told that a flight was coming, I was taken from urgent care to the airport in Eleuthera, then after arriving we were told at the airport that night flights cant arrive because this landing strip has no lights! We then had to call DAN and they told us that a flight could not be secured until the next morning, I was then told that a flight from Nassau was coming to take me to doctors hospital, we had to go to a different landing strip for small aircraft, they told me we need 8,000 for the flight, I was not able to cough up this amount so the dive operator had to cover the cost, after getting to Nassau and then to doctors hospital I was taken to the ER, upon my arrival I was told by registration we need 8,000 dollars before we can help you! I had to call my Bank at 1:30 in the morning and move funds around to pay them. I called DAN assist and the Hospital would not even talk to them, the next morning I was taken to a chamber at 0800 hrs, had to spend another day in the hospital and cough up another 1,900.00 bucks! I did get my money back but something needs to be done differently for situations like this, I have fully recovered and I'm doing fine, but I probably will never travel out of the US again on a dive excursion!

 

[Wookie]

Same thing happened to me in November, got bent, was taken to an urgent care in Eleuthera Bahamas, after being seen by the onsite doctor, he called Dan and was transferred to Dan Assist, the Doctor on call told them we need a flight for this member, we need to get him to a chamber, he told them that he had examined me and that I had been hit with DCS, after that we were told that a flight was coming, I was taken from urgent care to the airport in Eleuthera, then after arriving we were told at the airport that night flights cant arrive because this landing strip has no lights! We then had to call DAN and they told us that a flight could not be secured until the next morning, I was then told that a flight from Nassau was coming to take me to doctors hospital, we had to go to a different landing strip for small aircraft, they told me we need 8,000 for the flight, I was not able to cough up this amount so the dive operator had to cover the cost, after getting to Nassau and then to doctors hospital I was taken to the ER, upon my arrival I was told by registration we need 8,000 dollars before we can help you! I had to call my Bank at 1:30 in the morning and move funds around to pay them. I called DAN assist and the Hospital would not even talk to them, the next morning I was taken to a chamber at 0800 hrs, had to spend another day in the hospital and cough up another 1,900.00 bucks! I did get my money back but something needs to be done differently for situations like this, I have fully recovered and I'm doing fine, but I probably will never travel out of the US again on a dive excursion!

This whole situation is sounding suspiciously like the SSS chamber debacle of 10 years ago, where Sub-Aquatic Safety Services chamber network worldwide were churning patients for their credit cards and were refusing to speak to DAN. At least that's how folks who were bent described the situation. I have no first hand knowledge, nor do I remember the whole story, but I remember it being extensively written up on SB.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Could niy have said it better.

The fact is that other similar cases have been highlighted in the video comments and that it seems it isn't an isolated incident.

Somewhere in the past few years DAN Lost their commitment to quality and they are now paying for it. I do not think that I will ever trust them the way I use to.

It's not just DAN, it's all insurance companies. They've all gone downhill in the last couple years and the rates continue to rise.

Also, maybe the incident that happened was a bad example of DAN. But overall, you don't see complaints like that about them so I would like to hope that it's a somewhat isolated incident. We're a talkative bunch on here, I'd think you'd hear about more horror stories if that was the case. Most peoples interaction seem to be positive.

Having them release the statement they did is nice to know they're proactive and sounds like they're taking a hard look at it. That kind of gives me the warm fuzzies.

Same thing happened to me in November, got bent, was taken to an urgent care in Eleuthera Bahamas, after being seen by the onsite doctor, he called Dan and was transferred to Dan Assist, the Doctor on call told them we need a flight for this member, we need to get him to a chamber, he told them that he had examined me and that I had been hit with DCS, after that we were told that a flight was coming, I was taken from urgent care to the airport in Eleuthera, then after arriving we were told at the airport that night flights cant arrive because this landing strip has no lights! We then had to call DAN and they told us that a flight could not be secured until the next morning, I was then told that a flight from Nassau was coming to take me to doctors hospital, we had to go to a different landing strip for small aircraft, they told me we need 8,000 for the flight, I was not able to cough up this amount so the dive operator had to cover the cost, after getting to Nassau and then to doctors hospital I was taken to the ER, upon my arrival I was told by registration we need 8,000 dollars before we can help you! I had to call my Bank at 1:30 in the morning and move funds around to pay them. I called DAN assist and the Hospital would not even talk to them, the next morning I was taken to a chamber at 0800 hrs, had to spend another day in the hospital and cough up another 1,900.00 bucks! I did get my money back but something needs to be done differently for situations like this, I have fully recovered and I'm doing fine, but I probably will never travel out of the US again on a dive excursion!

Thanks for sharing your experience. Care to elaborate what you think / they think got you bent?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I have no clue who these Dive Talk dudes are. I'd never heard of them until this kerfuffle started on SB. I have no plans to find out who they are nor give their YT channel any clicks. Not because I have anything against them. I have no clue who they even are! But because I find that in today's world of internet influencers and YT content creators, developing a following has little to do with quality of content. People are simply not very discerning and entertainment trumps quality content every time. I stick to content from individuals I've learned to trust over the years.

With that said, I wish the injured diver well. I hope he fully recovers, as I would wish any other random diver who gets bent.

It certainly sounds like DAN has learned some things and is taking steps to address them. So that is a net positive for all of us.

I have been a proud DAN member for 20 years now and will remain one. Not because I think they are perfect, but because I value the excellent work they've done and continue to do to promote and support safe diving. If I ever need them, I have zero concerns with calling them. I also would expect to leverage my own health insurance, my personal financial resources, and local emergency services in the area I'm diving. I have never viewed DAN as the sole entity to turn to if I'm ever in a diving accident, simply one additional layer of support and financial protection.

 

[Vicko]

I'm shocked that a company would admit guilt this openly, hope they don't get sued out of existence as on average they are very important and beneficial to the diving industry.

 

[Billg68bg]

Sounds like they found and admitted faults and failures in their system and are accepting responsibility and moving to fix said faults. No system is perfect. Especially when coordinating with affiliate or outside entities.
Never used DAN, so I have no knowledge of their history. Basing my opinion on the letter provided.

 

[L13]

Same thing happened to me in November, got bent, was taken to an urgent care in Eleuthera Bahamas, after being seen by the onsite doctor, he called Dan and was transferred to Dan Assist, the Doctor on call told them we need a flight for this member, we need to get him to a chamber, he told them that he had examined me and that I had been hit with DCS, after that we were told that a flight was coming, I was taken from urgent care to the airport in Eleuthera, then after arriving we were told at the airport that night flights cant arrive because this landing strip has no lights! We then had to call DAN and they told us that a flight could not be secured until the next morning, I was then told that a flight from Nassau was coming to take me to doctors hospital, we had to go to a different landing strip for small aircraft, they told me we need 8,000 for the flight, I was not able to cough up this amount so the dive operator had to cover the cost, after getting to Nassau and then to doctors hospital I was taken to the ER, upon my arrival I was told by registration we need 8,000 dollars before we can help you! I had to call my Bank at 1:30 in the morning and move funds around to pay them. I called DAN assist and the Hospital would not even talk to them, the next morning I was taken to a chamber at 0800 hrs, had to spend another day in the hospital and cough up another 1,900.00 bucks! I did get my money back but something needs to be done differently for situations like this, I have fully recovered and I'm doing fine, but I probably will never travel out of the US again on a dive excursion!

Something to note, it was the locals demanding money and refusing to talk to DAN. DAN can't change that.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Something to note, it was the locals demanding money and refusing to talk to DAN. DAN can't change that.

Living in South Florida, my wife and I frequently talk about visiting the Bahamas. It is so close, yet it's also a world away. This incident is a perfect example of that. We have no plans to visit.

But then again, I'm unusual compared to most ScubaBoarders. Of my 789 logged dives, 2 have been outside of the US or Canada. I don't plan on changing that.

 

[boulderjohn]

Something to note, it was the locals demanding money and refusing to talk to DAN. DAN can't change that.

No, you can't change that. If there is a broken link in the system, the system will not work.

A very well known figure in the diving community, a one-time frequent ScubaBoard participant, got bent a couple of years ago. He arrived at the hospital and told them with as much fervor as possible that he was bent and needed to be put on oxygen immediately. He was totally ignored by the emergency room staff, who refused to do anything until he had waited his turn in the waiting rom and gone through the typical ER protocols. (I don't know if he called DAN--I only know about this from his FaceBook posts.) The hospital staff did not know diddly about DCS, and they weren't going to listen to anyone else. As a result, his DCS treatment was greatly delayed, and he suffered permanent injuries that forced him to end his primary source of income--scuba instruction.