Filmmaker Rob Stewart's family files wrongful death lawsuit

[Wookie]

its interesting they are suing in usa not Canada , (as our settlement aren't a 10th of the us ones ) I think this one will go all the away to the jury as peter hasn't the money to settle out of court .... this is going to be a wild ride with so much publicity and the accusations against peter and add helium ...

If they sued in Canada (civil), all Peter would have to do is stay out of Canada for the rest of his life. That would bum me out, but not if it were going to potentially cost me many millions or US or Canada dollars.

 

[boulderjohn]

If it is true that the 3rd dive was just a bounce dive to retrieve the anchor, I would say that Horizon Divers may be in more trouble than Sotis. Why wasn't there dive crew to retrieve the anchor? There is some merit to the claim that they should have been keeping track of both divers on the surface.

As my non-attorney eyes scan the document, it appears to me as if the failure to supervise them on the surface is the focus of the suit.

BTW, a minor detail is that it was a grappling hook, not an anchor, but that is not a consequential difference.

 

[boulderjohn]

So I guess that Rob was just a passenger in a boating activity and not a diving activity according to the filing..... So I guess he had no personal responsibility for his own actions here....

I am neither an attorney nor a boat captain, but it is my understanding that whatever your personal beliefs may be about personal responsibility for a dive, there are standard expectations for the duties of a professional boat crew. As an example, if I am part of a group on a dive trip and I get left behind, the one who will get blamed is the boat captain, who is responsible for making sure everyone is aboard.

 

[DiverAmy]

its interesting they are suing in usa not Canada , (as our settlement aren't a 10th of the us ones ) I think this one will go all the away to the jury as peter hasn't the money to settle out of court .... this is going to be a wild ride with so much publicity and the accusations against peter and add helium ...

(Generally,) Venue properly is where the defendant/defendant Corp. resides.

 

[Ron Lee]

I am neither an attorney nor a boat captain, but it is my understanding that whatever your personal beliefs may be about personal responsibility for a dive, there are standard expectations for the duties of a professional boat crew. As an example, if I am part of a group on a dive trip and I get left behind, the one who will get blamed is the boat captain, who is responsible for making sure everyone is aboard.

It will be interesting. So a possible reality is that Rob signaled that he was fine. Then Sotis has a real emergency that requires all on board to attend to him. When someone gets a chance to check on Stewart...he is gone.

It is possible that the cause of Stewart's death was his own decision to make that third dive.

 

[mderrick]

BTW, a minor detail is that it was a grappling hook, not an anchor, but that is not a consequential difference.

Actually, I noticed that too... and it cleared up something for me... it's a good possibility that explains why the 3rd dive had to be done.

Although I'm not as familiar with the keys specifically (Wookie?), the routine many Southeast Florida local area boats use (because of current) for wrecks is for the divemaster to "smart bomb" the wreck with a buoy, line and a chain. They chain in, return to the boat deck for a briefing on the conditions, the dives are performed, the divemaster returns to remove the chain.

On technical dives that's not always practical... the divemaster is often not qualified to be that deep, in that case the boat charter is just providing transportation and surface support. Several other strategies can used... a diver from the team is selected to "jump" the wreck, and once it's clear he has succeeded the rest of the team hurries down to meet him. The problem is he is piling on extra deco waiting for the rest of the team. Alternatively, the entire team smart bombs the wreck together, pulls the chain and leaves together drifting with the buoy/line on deco together (my personal favorite method.) If the team is skilled, this works extremely well even when one or two of the team are weak. The boat knows where everyone is on deco, nobody has tangled bag lines, you aren't flying like a flag on a pole in a hurricane.

If the viz is poor, team is too weak or too large to all jump together, nobody wants to (or is gassed for) the extra deco, no divemaster, etc... then a solution is to use a grapple made of iron rebar. Grapple the wreck without having to put anyone in the water. (Curious the word "grapple" instead of "anchor" is mentioned in the complaint, it leads me to believe it's a deliberately selected word.) Do the dives, then when everyone is back in the boat, pull up some line, tie it to a cleat, pull the grapple out using the boat; the soft rebar facilitates this by easily bending straight. The problem is sometimes you can't free the grapple from the surface... then an adhoc and nearly always subpar plan "B" has to be formulated, and a lot can go wrong.

I've been in this exact circumstance before, more than once. You are tired, and already fizzing, now you'd best haul ass down the line as absolutely fast as you can (for several reasons, time pressure being only one of them, crushing the bubbles fast another reason)... then you are confronted with a grapple which is by definition jammed in such that it is going to probably be some serious work to get freed, adding insult to injury you need to swim the grapple a ways off the wreck and drop it in the sand to be sure it doesn't foul again. On a rebreather after two dives, this is a reliable way to induce hypercapnia (hmmm, wonder how I know that?). So classic, I actually teach this scenario in my classes as an example of how to over breathe the scrubber as a result of excessive effort. My solution is to bailout to OC before freeing the grapple, then go back on the loop once the ascent is started. An alternative approach if no one is prepared to do another dive is to recover just the buoy (or leave it and hope for the best) and come back for the line and grapple another day.

 

[Wookie]

I learned from NorthEast wreck divers, and am not at liberty to comment regarding vessel operations at this time.

 

[boulderjohn]

It is possible that the cause of Stewart's death was his own decision to make that third dive.

It is indeed possible that it was a primary cause, but does that relive the boat crew of a responsibility to supervise him once he was on the surface?

 

[Ron Lee]

It is indeed possible that it was a primary cause, but does that relive the boat crew of a responsibility to supervise him once he was on the surface?

Given the suggested reality that Sotis had a real medical issue that may have required the assistance of all on board, it seems reasonable that they could not attend to Sotis AND maintain 100% uninterrupted oversight over Stewart.

Getting back on the boat in Cozumel there are short periods where the boat captain is helping a diver get on board. Reality is that there is not 100% uninterrupted visual contact with me. I do not expect it. Being a big boy the primary responsibility for my safety and well-being is on me.

 

[mmadiver]

Question for the charter Captains here, trying to recall the coast guard regs on this: Since Peter & Rob retrieved the grapple would that not make them part of the crew?