gfisher4792
Guest
I smell settlement. Oh, and the media linking this to Open Water (the movie).
Diver in California Sues for Being Left
- Thread starter darylm74
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The divers story is in the Feb 2005 issue of Readers Digest, along with the punitive actions taken by the Coast Guard against the Captain.
IMO there were mistakes made especially in regards to the roll call. The diver himself,IMO, was far from impressive regarding his diving skills and knowledge. He bears a large portion of the responsibility for creating the situation.
IMO there were mistakes made especially in regards to the roll call. The diver himself,IMO, was far from impressive regarding his diving skills and knowledge. He bears a large portion of the responsibility for creating the situation.
cdiver2
Contributor
jbd:
What information are you privy to?, do you know the full facts of this case?, do you know this diver. There is NO excuse for a boat leaving a diver in the water EVER.
Super divers relay p**s me off
CA Diver
Contributor
Everyone here needs to read the previous thread referenced above. A scuba operation chartered the boat AND supplied the divemasters. Yes the Captain has the ultimate responsibility to insure that all divers have returned to the boat, but the dive operator shares, or has the majority of the blame as do his dive buddies. The general facts of the case have been detailed in numerous publications here in Southern California. Many may question the divers reasoning for what he did or did not do after surfacing, but whether he attempted to swim back to the boat or not, whether or not he should have entered the water in the fog and current, the boat and dive operator should not have left the oil rig without him.
On the litigation side, since he was ultimately rescued how was he damaged by the incident, which should be the basis for a judgement.
On the litigation side, since he was ultimately rescued how was he damaged by the incident, which should be the basis for a judgement.
SteveDiver
Contributor
cdiver2:
What facts do you need ? it's really simple the diver is STUPID! He lost contact with his buddy (if there was one) and/or the GROUP. There is NO excuse for the boat leaving the diver in the water just like there is no excuse for the Diver's stupidity.. You learn this in DIVING101- "Never loose contact if so, search ONE MINUTE then COME UP!" His skin cancer is a joke please! This guy is an idiot and trying to make a buck off of his stupidity..Yes, the boat should be accountable but so should the diver..
ShakaZulu
Contributor
They should take all these laywers out on a dive trip and leave them behing in GW areas...........
SteveDiver
Contributor
ShakaZulu:
Agree! There is nothing I hate more is a money hungry bloodsucking attorney and the people that cannot make a buck on their own. You know the ones that always look for an excuse to sue? Why cannot people succeed financially on their own? where is their sense of pride and self achievement? This diver learned a hard lesson and it is because of his stupidity he was left...
Its not about being a super diver. Go get a copy of the Feb 2005 issue of Readers Digest and read his story.cdiver2:
Equalization problems at 30 feet, he stops descending(rightfully so) but loses contact with the three other divers. Apparently once he equalizes he decides to descend solo to try an find the other three. He descends to 108 feet. Not finding the other three buddies he ascends to 15 feet and does a safety stop. From the article I get the distinct impression that there is at least some current. Where do you think he is going during the safety stop? Where do you think he was going during the ascent? There is not any further mention of the oil rig once he reaches the surface. If he was not with in sight of the oil, how far away had he drifted?
Making the decision to descend and find somone while following bubbles in an area with currents is poor judgement. Its hard enough to in a quarry to find a diver in this manner when they are moving.
He bears responsibility for his actions, which created the situation. Likewise the DM bears responsibility for not laying eyes on him during the roll call. The captain apparently had information from the group leader that all persons were on the boat. As captain though he carries responsibility also.
You're probably right, somones insurance company will cough up a million of the four to settle the case out of court. Koepke will probably get between 30% and 50 % of that for filing the suit and accepting the settlement.gfisher4792:
slingshot
Contributor
That's just over $13,000 per minute left in the water. Next time I'm drift diving and it takes a minute before the boat picks me up.... 
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