Father and son run over by dive charter

[SC_Hoaty]

See reference drift dive" Post 18, this thread.
FWC = Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the investigating agency.
Good 'nuff?
Combined with the fact that this has been going on for a week now, and no one has contested the statement here or anywhere else that it was a drift dive.

I was on the water that day and heard most of the traffic on the VHF. It was obvious it was a drift dive... this was being openly discussed between USCG, FWC, boat crew, etc...

Thanks folks!

 

[KeysCuda]

I'm rather ignorant of boating laws, so maybe someone can fill me in. Is there any requirement for a boat to have a mate on board in addition to the captain or DM? I know the bigger dive boats I've been on (12+ divers) have always had a mate that didn't get in the water. I remember the boats used by Florida Keys Dive Center are both pretty big.

Interesting point, and one that a) I'm sure will come up in the inevitable lawsuit; and b) will receive comment from SB posters with pro experience.

What we don't know: How many people were aboard as passengers. There may be some kind of passenger-to-crew ratio involved there.
There is a Coast Guard rule requiring a passenger or dive boat to have at least one crew member aboard at all times, which is why your captain on a small 6-pak boat can't anchor up and jump in the water with you.

 

[newfldiver]

Yes, I have several updates, but only as of a week ago due to the storm that hit the mid-Atlantic region. They've moved the son, Calvin, to a rehab center in Miami, and he'll be there for several weeks before taking care of the situation with his skull (not sure of the severity of injuries).
He is able to stand, but has some problem with right arm mobility, but my last info is that he is constantly improving each day. The only word I've recieved on the father, Jarred, is that he is doing ok. No word on when the family will be able to get back to their comforts of home in DE or if they'll transfer Calvin to a hospital/ rehab center.

 

[wtcreaux]

Updates on how father and son are doing??

Any new information on sequence of events??

 

[newfldiver]

Newest update is that dad is home and has been for a couple weeks now, and the son, Calvin, should be transferred to a rehab center in DE for continuation of treatment. When his rehab is finished, he'll be sent back down to Miami for the surgery on his skull. Both are doing exceptionally well, from what I understand, but I don't know whether there'll be a full recovery or not.

 

[wtcreaux]

Any new information on sequence of events??

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Any word on these guys? Hope they are both home now and doing well.

 

[reefman]

follow up and a few more details in todays key west citizen,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


Divers hit by boat file lawsuit | KeysNews.com




reefman
key largo

 

[Splitlip]

That was inevitable.
Sad that the boy sustained permanent and debilitating injuries.

 

[Ayisha]

Here is the article from the link above for posterity:

Divers hit by boat file lawsuit

BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
The father and son run over by an Upper Keys dive boat's propellers about three years ago have filed a federal civil lawsuit against the charter company, the boat captain, and mates, according to court records.
Calvin Adkins, then 11, and his father, Jared C. Adkins, then 39, both of Harrington, Del., were run over by the 46-foot Big Dipper, of the Florida Keys Dive Center in Tavernier, just after getting in the water near Conch Reef, nine miles south of Key Largo in August 2011.
Both suffered severe injuries and required emergency surgery after being airlifted to Miami hospitals following the incident. The son suffered a skull fracture and brain injury, which required part of his skull to be removed, according to law enforcement reports and the 55-page lawsuit filed this month.
Calvin Adkins suffered permanent brain injury due to the incident, said his attorney, John Hickey of Miami.
Named in the lawsuit are Big Dipper Charters, Florida Keys Dive Center, Capt. John Brady, mate John Burton and FKDC operators Thomas and Pamela Timmerman.
"The owners and staff of Florida Keys Dive Center continue to pray for Calvin, Jared and the Adkins family," Pamela Timmerman wrote in an email. "Out of respect for the Adkins we will not use the press to comment about any legal action regarding a family tragedy."
The Adkins were taking part in a "drift dive" with about 15 other people, which means divers move with the current instead of staying in one area, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports of the incident. The divers also were "live boating," which means the boat was not anchored, but moving.
Both Adkins were in the water off the stern of the Big Dipper when it ran them over, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that the captain, John Brady, left the engines running while the crew put divers in the water at three different locations.
The Adkins entered the water at the last location with their scuba gear under the direction of crew, the lawsuit states.
"When (the Adkins) were in the transom of the vessel and after they jumped into the water, the master and his mate and divemaster did not communicate properly with each other and did not maintain a proper lookout," the lawsuit alleges. "Yet, the master put the engines in reverse and moved the vessel back over the two divers."
Hickey alleges the position of life rafts and layout of the Big Dipper made it so that "the person sitting at the helm could not see the transom of the vessel or anyone in the transom of the vessel."
He further alleges the charter company failed to provide a safe vessel due to those limitations, failed to keep a proper lookout of divers and failed to provide a properly trained captain and crew, which ultimately led to the incident, according to the lawsuit.
Hickey also alleges the Florida Keys Dive Center "misrepresented" facts on its website, mainly that "the personnel were not all employed by and were not 'of' the Florida Keys Dive Center."

"We believe this is a situation were the crew are paid as independent contractors and I think there's a little bit of shell game," Hickey said of the allegations regarding the website.
The lawsuit will be heard before U.S. District Senior Judge James Lawrence King. Hickey had not heard a response from the defendant's lawyer as of Thursday. A court date has yet to be scheduled.