Do not ever say you are a rescue diver

[MB NZ]

If they remunerate you for those services, then you are acting as a professional. If you are acting as a professional and things go bad, you can be sued. That is why professional DMs and instructors carry liability insurance, and it isn't cheap.

It doesn't have to be money, could be a free dive. Of course, they very rarely go for this, but that's not the point, the purpose is to make sure they understand that you as a paying customer will not do their work for them for free.

 

[admikar]

In short, asking someone who is not an employee of a dive operation to take on a position of trust is a bad idea, which is likely why I have never seen it done.

But it seems it is definitely expected to act as one?

 

[boulderjohn]

It doesn't have to be money, could be a free dive. Of course, they very rarely go for this, but that's not the point, the purpose is to make sure they understand that you as a paying customer will not do their work for them for free.

Whatever the kind of pay or even if it is no pay, if another customer has the understanding that you are someone who the operation says is in any kind of a supervisory or helping position, then you are acting in a professional role. Don't do it!

The only cases I know of in which a dive went bad and someone who was not in any way designated in any sort of professional role got legally blamed were both on Malta, and in both cases the prosecution's contention that the diver had an obligatory rescue responsibility was eventually thrown out. You don't have a responsibility for another diver if you are just someone else doing the dive. You do not want anyone telling other divers that they can officially depend upon you on the dive, whether you are paid or not, because then you do have that responsibility.

 

[boulderjohn]

But it seems it is definitely expected to act as one?

I do not understand this question fully. I will respond as I understand it.

If you are a certified rescue diver, then if a situation arises that someone needs rescuing, you might be able to help out because of your training. If you do, great! Good work! Your training paid off!

I do not, however, believe there is a legal requirement that you do so--except maybe on Malta. In another case decades ago, a man named Gabe Watson was prosecuted for failing to rescue his wife, Tina, but that was under an unusual law in that section of Australia. In a recent thread, I was told that law no longer exists.

 

[MB NZ]

Whatever the kind of pay or even if it is no pay, if another customer has the understanding that you are someone who the operation says is in any kind of a supervisory or helping position, then you are acting in a professional role. Don't do it!

The only cases I know of in which a dive went bad and someone who was not in any way designated in any sort of professional role got legally blamed were both on Malta, and in both cases the prosecution's contention that the diver had an obligatory rescue responsibility was eventually thrown out. You don't have a responsibility for another diver if you are just someone else doing the dive. You do not want anyone telling other divers that they can officially depend upon you on the dive, whether you are paid or not, because then you do have that responsibility.

I agree, not taking on any kind of supervisory role is the safest option from a legal perspective. I wouldn't want that happening to me in Malta of all places. In fact, as nice as the diving is in Malta, don't think I would go back there because of these issues.

 

[EFX]

Here is something I found on google concerning Gabe Watson:

Watson served 18 months in an Australian prison after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge, but is now on trial in Birmingham, Alabama and faces life in prison. His defense contends that her death was accidental while prosecutors say he drowned her to cash in her life insurance policy.

I remember watching a documentary about this story and in it another diver said he witnessed Gabe hugging his wife underwater and shortly after that she was seen lying unresponsive on the bottom. Some people speculate that Gabe shut Tina's air off during that embrace.

 

[Cthippo]

The key concept here is "Duty to act". Being certified as a RD, or anything else, really, does not create such a duty. Negligence only exists when there is such a duty, i.e. someone is paying you to act, and you do not fulfill that duty. In this case, there was no duty to act, so the OP cannot be considered legally negligent (Except on Malta). In this case, the duty is limited by not taking unreasonable risks to carry it out. You are not expected to do something that will injure yourself in order to help someone else. If the OP did have a duty to act, which he did not, he does not have a duty to dive faster than he can equalize and cause himself injury in trying to rescue someone else.

 

[boulderjohn]

Watson served 18 months in an Australian prison after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge, but is now on trial in Birmingham, Alabama and faces life in prison. His defense contends that her death was accidental while prosecutors say he drowned her to cash in her life insurance policy.

You are far behind the times. The trial was in 2012.

As I said, he served the manslaughter conviction under an unusual law in that area that is apparently no longer in effect.

As for the case in Alabama, it went to trial long ago, and the judge threw it out as soon as the prosecution had completed its case. The expert witnesses who were on hand prepared to testify that Gabe failed to rescue her because of his sheer incompetence never got to testify. The judge's ruling on the prosecution's case was scathing.

As for the insurance--IIRC, prior to marrying her, he paid off all her debts, an amount greater than the insurance policy for which he supposedly murdered her.

Much of the information on which the general public formed their opinions turned out to be just plain wrong. The true expert on this case is @clownfishsydney.

 

[Joneill]

I always felt that certified simply means that you have a piece of paper, or plastic or plaque on the wall.......and that qualified means that you actually have the current ability, knowledge and skills to perform. For example, there are many persons who are certified divers but only have experience in warm tropical water. Many of these "certified" folks are not "qualified" to dive cold water. But now that you point that out.....I think I'll change my signature quote to "Competent beats Certified Every Day of the Week"

Why on earth would anyone want to dive in cold water?

I dropped below the thermocline at the quarry after the Rescue class and got to “enjoy” 50F water without a hood (felt like an ice pick to the head). We went back down with hoods and gloves but that cold water still chills your face. No thanks - wearing a bulky wetsuit/hood/gloves is not my idea of fun when there are so many beautiful tropical diving locations with warm water, healthy reefs and insane amounts and diversity of marine life to explore!

 

[Wibble]

Why on earth would anyone want to dive in cold water?

I dropped below the thermocline at the quarry after the Rescue class and got to “enjoy” 50F water without a hood (felt like an ice pick to the head). We went back down with hoods and gloves but that cold water still chills your face. No thanks - wearing a bulky wetsuit/hood/gloves is not my idea of fun when there are so many beautiful tropical diving locations with warm water, healthy reefs and insane amounts and diversity of marine life to explore!

We have all the good wrecks. OK, a lot of them then.

And it’s 10 miles away without needing a flight.