Dive accidents - why so little information afterwards?

[Dive Tigger]

Hi, you'll have to pardon my ignorance on this, but why is it that we hear about dive accidents/fatalities through media or friends in the industry, but after the initial announcement, there is no real information out there? Wouldn't it make sense to let the dive community know the specifics of an accident and what happened so that we could learn from the mishap and hopefully prevent future incidents?

I don't understand why all the secrecy?

 

[TSandM]

Some of it is secrecy, and some of it is that the people who know the most may not be involved here at all.

Liability is a huge issue. If there are dive professionals involved in the accident or the attempted rescue, they may not want anything said on line that is capable of access by the discovery process. Dive professionals (even boat crew and the like) may have been advised by their insurance company to keep their mouths shut.

Dive buddies who were involved in the incident may not be posters in online forums at all; and if they are, they may be too traumatized to tell their stories to a critical and unsympathetic public.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Hi, you'll have to pardon my ignorance on this, but why is it that we hear about dive accidents/fatalities through media or friends in the industry, but after the initial announcement, there is no real information out there? Wouldn't it make sense to let the dive community know the specifics of an accident and what happened so that we could learn from the mishap and hopefully prevent future incidents?

I don't understand why all the secrecy?

Other than DAN's annual report on dive accidents, the following link shows real information, IMHO, to be gleaned from a small statistical sample of diving incidents at time of medical treatment here in Southern California. . .

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/so...ys-go-la-county-usc-catalina.html#post6232012

 

[Scott L]

From my observations, those who know the most, protect the victims out of respect. In that investigations & autopsies are conducted by public employees, I am not sure why the records would not be available to the public . I would be interested to know more on these subject by those with first hand knowledge...

 

[Kevrumbo]

From my observations, those who know the most, protect the victims out of respect. In that investigations & autopsies are conducted by public employees, I am not sure why the records would be available to the public . I would be interested to know more on these subject by those with first hand knowledge...

Then come on out and train, volunteer for Crew on the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber (they have a few members from out-of-state).

USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber

You will get all the first hand knowlege you desire for only yourself, with the caveat being the respect of patients' privacy. . .

 

[redacted]

One way to improve safety is to think about and discuss risks and ways to minimize them. So, even without all the details, just information on general circumstances, we can benefit by responsible hypothetical discussions about the details of accidents and their causes. In fact, maybe there is more benefit from this approach than there would be from having all the details and specifics.

 

[phaust]

IMO, it's like every other accident/incident. we don't heard often about the accident after it's have been on the news.. you may be able to have more information but it's always from a close relative or person that was involved in it. and most of the time, they don't more than you.

Hi, you'll have to pardon my ignorance on this, but why is it that we hear about dive accidents/fatalities through media or friends in the industry, but after the initial announcement, there is no real information out there? Wouldn't it make sense to let the dive community know the specifics of an accident and what happened so that we could learn from the mishap and hopefully prevent future incidents?

I don't understand why all the secrecy?

 

[drbill]

The investigation into the actual cause of a diving accident also takes time and therefore factual details are often assembled well after the incident.

 

[Scott L]

Then come on out and train, volunteer for Crew on the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber (they have a few members from out-of-state).

USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber

You will get all the first hand knowlege you desire for only yourself, with the caveat being the respect of patients' privacy. . .

True, but the chamber is generally only just one step in an often long process leading to recovery or worse...

 

[SeaHorse81]

Wouldn't it make sense to let the dive community know the specifics of an accident and what happened so that we could learn from the mishap and hopefully prevent future incidents?

It's not about us and our needs. Most families are probably too busy dealing with their tragic loss, the involved divers too busy with their own trauma, and all the various professionals too busy with their respective roles in the aftermath. Nobody owes us anything.

Valuable discussion happens on these threads, but so does wild speculation and sometimes snarky criticism. If I lost someone to a tragic accident, I'd have to think carefully about whether I'd put their death up for public dissection here. On one hand, it could do life-saving good for many strangers I'd never meet. On the other hand, it could turn my loved one's death into something of a circus.

I'm grateful for our sakes that we get as much information as we do, but I also think people have a right to keep their losses private.