General Sherman Wreck fatality - South Carolina

[t-mac]

I would think the insurance company took over the legal as soon as the boat hit shore. They automatically try to take control of the situation, to minimize the liability they are going to be responcible for. If you are ever in the situation for liability for the death of a diver and you haven't had a lawyer take charge of the situation, you are an idiot. This letter is more a reflection of the lawyer's perspective than those of the captain, DM or the charter. I would hope that the lawyers would protect my interests as much as possible. What gets said on the local news can hang around for years of litigation. If a crew man threw a O2 bottle over the side, the context of doing that may be debatable... For all we know that didn't happen at all. I am not taking sides in this cluster f**k. But it might be better not to read into the incident things that are might or might not be there. I think the take home message is to be discriminating when selecting a charter company.

Probably exactly what happened. Involvement of lawyers is definitely a good idea. But there are several ways to kill your business. You might fail in court because you did something bad or you had incompetent counsel. Or you could simply let your lawyer piss off or scare all your future customers - even if you did nothing wrong. There's more to this than right or wrong or properly defending yourself. Agree with you in principle, but this was handled poorly if the intent was to continue the business (generally what the owner wants). Just a practical observation.

 

[nofish]

EXPRESS WATER SPORTS Murrells inlet 18665669338 dove with them many times great to work with going out with them on the 18th

 

[TechDeep]

EXPRESS WATER SPORTS Murrells inlet 18665669338 dove with them many times great to work with going out with them on the 18th

Thanks for the info! I checked their web site, looks good! It's more of a drive for me from North Myrtle, but traffic is light that time of morning. I will have to give them a try. Do you need a buddy on the 18th?

 

[cigarsmoker]

Thanks for the info! I checked their web site, looks good! It's more of a drive for me from North Myrtle, but traffic is light that time of morning. I will have to give them a try. Do you need a buddy on the 18th?

I will be down there this week and the following. While I don't have as many dives as you, I do have experience in the waters there. I would love to dive together.

I have dove with both costal and express. Normally I have chosen costal out of location. While conditions can not be predicted, I have not had a bad experience there with them or captin russ. That being said, maybe I was just lucky. I do agree that they are a no frills operation but as I recall, captin Russ was concerned about his divers safety.

My thought and prayers go out to the diver and her family.

 

[tempoffroad]

I went out with coastal scuba today for the first time and while the conditions were horrible they were all about safety. I would dive them again in a heartbeat.

 

[TechDeep]

I went out with coastal scuba today for the first time and while the conditions were horrible they were all about safety. I would dive them again in a heartbeat.

Kind of what I figured. In 20 years of diving with them I've never been overly concerned about their captains or crew. I also figure I can pretty much take care of myself. I was thinking that they're most likely safer to dive with now than ever before.

The biggest problem I'm having now is this crazy ear infection causing a complete blockage deep down inside my left ear. Going to hit the pool tomorrow and see if it looks like I might have trouble clearing.

---------- Post Merged at 04:34 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 12:21 AM ----------

Doc says I have a hole in my eardrum. No diving no way this week. Still thinking about Saturday, I just don't want to risk ruining someone else's dive if I can't clear.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

I went out with coastal scuba today for the first time and while the conditions were horrible they were all about safety. I would dive them again in a heartbeat.

Good to hear they have taken this to heart and improved.

 

[cigarsmoker]

I can second that. I went out with them twice over the past week. They were very safe and provided a good experience for everyone on the boat. In addition to being safe, they were friendly and genuinely wanted all to have a good time.

If you go, the visability on the Charleston Tug is pretty remarkable for that area.

 

[mcguilty]

I am latecomer to ScubaBoard and I was on deck (as a paying guest diver) the entire time - from first spotting the diver until we reached the dock. I am both a DiveCon and an attorney. PLEASE do not assume the buddy was deficient - I don't. Feel free to respond to my assertion IF you were on board for the beginning of the event (thus limiting response to 5 divers, 2 staff and 1 crew). The Coast Guard gathered physical evidence and took written statements - perhaps we should wait for the final report.

 

[DandyDon]

I am latecomer to ScubaBoard and I was on deck (as a paying guest diver) the entire time - from first spotting the diver until we reached the dock. I am both a DiveCon and an attorney. PLEASE do not assume the buddy was deficient - I don't. Feel free to respond to my assertion IF you were on board for the beginning of the event (thus limiting response to 5 divers, 2 staff and 1 crew). The Coast Guard gathered physical evidence and took written statements - perhaps we should wait for the final report.

Howdy and welcome to SB!

The purpose of this forum is to learn from the mishaps of others, which may involve speculations, etc. - but not to place blame, which is actually prohibited, however this thread has progressed.