Family sues over shattered diving mask

[covediver]

Not sure if this is the right forum, please move if it is not

The family of an 8-year-old Beavercreek girl is suing a scuba-equipment company after a broken diving mask sliced off her nose.


According to a lawsuit filed May 30 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Lindsey Fox was swimming in her family's pool on July 5, 2006, when the mask shattered, amputating the girl's nose and leaving her with multiple facial lacerations.

story continues at
Willamette Week | Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008

 

[scubadale]

The family of an 8-year-old Beavercreek girl is suing a scuba-equipment company after a broken diving mask sliced off her nose.

According to a lawsuit filed May 30 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Lindsey Fox was swimming in her family's pool on July 5, 2006, when the mask shattered, amputating the girl's nose and leaving her with multiple facial lacerations.

According to the lawsuit, the mask was defective because it used glass instead of plastic for the lens, the glass was improperly tempered, and it was designed with a single piece of glass instead of two for greater flexibility.

The lawsuit claims the mask was made by American Underwater Products, a San Leandro, Calif.-based company doing business as Oceanic Worldwide. (One of the company's Shadow Series masks is pictured here, but it's unclear from the lawsuit which model the girl was wearing.)

The suit filed by lawyer James Breathouwer seeks $28,414 to cover Fox's medical expenses, including reconstructive surgery, plus $750,000 for pain and suffering. Oceanic Worldwide has not yet returned a phone call seeking comment.

 

[Rhone Man]

Interesting. Some good lawyer like ambiguity in there: "Lindsey Fox was swimming in her family's pool on July 5, 2006, when the mask shattered" Yep, just swimming along when all of the sudden the mask shattered. Absolutely nothing was being done at the time which could amount to contrib. Still you have to feel bad for an eight year old kid; especially a girl.

When I was about 10 years old I dived into a pool just as my friend, wearing a dive mask, stood up and I shattered the face plate with the top of my head. Luckily I only had minor cuts on the scalp and he only had one really good cut above his nose. He is still my friend, even if he doesn't really appreciate me telling his wife that it is lucky that he was so ugly the accident didn't make much of a difference.

 

[spectrum]

Well suggesting the lens should be plastic is a total departure from the "state of the art". If they kept the remains of the mask and poor temper can be confirmed by laboratory testing then they may have a cause for action. Given the normal behavior of tempered glass the injury and expert testimony may be enough.

If the glass was not correctly tempered I can see a combination of thermal and mechanical stress, perhaps including a modest impact causing it to break and be of extreme danger.

 

[fisheater]

In all likelihood, this mask was a cheap, discount store version, made in a country hosting the Olympics and very pissed off when they're accused of making shoddy merchandise, though it keeps on happening.

I wouldn't be surprised if the mask had thin, untempered glass. A hairline crack could have developed before the little girl went swimming and the mask did shatter when "she was just swimming."

 

[johnmckenzie]

We have all the facts on this story at Scuba Gadget - The Headline News of Scuba » Blog Archive » Sensationalized lawsuit story should not worry divers.

 

[Captain12Pk]

Ahhhhh. Media sensationalism at it's finest.

 

[mike_s]

We have all the facts on this story at Scuba Gadget - The Headline News of Scuba » Blog Archive » Sensationalized lawsuit story should not worry divers.

I had trouble getting the above link to work....

so here is the text of the story at the above link

Sensationalized lawsuit story should not worry divers.
June 4, 2008 John McKenzie [http://wetcatscuba.com]


A story posted in the Willamette Week Online calls out for an episode of Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story.” The dramatic story entitled “JUICY SUITS: Blood in the Water after Scuba Mask takes Nose” and authored by James Pitkin, certainly made us wonder if we should be careful with Oceanic scuba masks. However, sad that a young girl was injured, with the facts in hand this story makes a good cautionary tale for parents about watching that you children play safely in the pool and not another big bad corporation story.

We contacted Dan Emke, VP at Oceanic Worldwide and the attorneys for both parties. They gave us the full story. As it turns out, the mask was not the one of Oceanic’s scuba diving line masks, as was shown in the story, but was a mask from a youth snorkeling kit purchased while on a Hawaiian family vacation. Addtionally, the accident took place when the injured girl was standing at the bottom of a pool slide. Another girl slide down the slide in such a way that her foot ran into the facemask and broke the glass. The girl’s injuries were also less severe than indicated by the story and her nose was fully restored at the hospital​

 

[Teamcasa]

We have all the facts on this story at Scuba Gadget - The Headline News of Scuba » Blog Archive » Sensationalized lawsuit story should not worry divers.

I love it when the facts come out. However, I doubt the ambulance chaser will give up so easy. After all, he can still sue the slide manufacturer (for making the slide so high and slippery when exposed to water), the water company (supplier of the slippery substance), the kid’s parents for allowing their child to knowingly make a rapid decent down the slide (before the other little girl could get clear of the end of the pool) and finally the Hawaiian resort that sold the defective (not Oceanic) mask.

In any event, I feel bad for the little girl that got injured.

 

[300bar]

[rant]What's wrong with you guy's in the USofA,is there nobody left over there with any common sence?
Or is it the way you make a living these day's?[/rant]

Sorry for the girl,but blaming the manufacturer