Info Is DAN Insurance worthwhile?

[Brodydog]

you might be exaggerating just a little bit

I finally made it through the whole video. I felt like this were very dramatized, although I might do the same if I thought I had almost died…who knows, and there were at least 2 places I saw that were exaggerated so it made me feel as if more could be exaggerated.

The exaggerated parts I saw…
1. that the wall next to him in the public hospital had feces on it. Maybe but I have my doubts.

2. that DAN required every single thing to be filled out on the forms sent. I had suspected mild DCS a few years back. I filled out the form and left my personal insurance part blank because I didn’t have my card with me. DAN paid for everything on the spot. I was never even asked later on to give DAN my insurance info to them, which surprised me. I did not have to do a chamber ride, just some O2 and fluids to be on the safe side.

 

[tursiops]

And if they are reimbursing you, do they make it clear you may need to outlay the initial cost of treatment?

Yes. Quite clear. It is secondary insurance. You pay, and they reimburse after any other insurance you have pays.

 

[The Chairman]

TEDW: Too Entitled, Didn't Watch!

 

[cerich]

At 27:30 Woody says: "...I was So Bent, and you said that joke...But I knew something was very wrong" as they were leaving the dive site. He is breathing O2, feeling like he can't get enough air, unable to remove his own gear, and they go ... to the dive shop (not the hospital)?!

They hang out for a few hours, grilling steaks, and actually discussing whether he should dive the next day!

Finally they decide to take him to the hospital(clinic?), but for some reason all this time, and on the way there, they are using a scuba regulator instead of a non-re-breather mask for the O2? The shop doesn't have emergency O2, etc.? Just deco O2?

Anyway, 43 min in and they are just now talk about calling DAN (but haven't yet by the time they reach the clinic).

I need another break from the inanity. @Marie13 is right, this is hard to watch. I hope @34109411 is right that it will be worth it in the end! (maybe at least my suffering through it will save someone else the trouble).

I arrived to where I would be teaching an instructor level class the next day around 8pm at night. Upon arrival it was obvious that one of the people that had been diving with my scheduled students had a type 2 hit when they told me they weren't feeling great and their appearance, gait , speech, etc immediatly caught my attention. A 5 min neuro and discussion over what diving they had been doing and I was 100% certain they were experiencing a type 2 DCS hit, The diver affected and buddies were not even close to wanting to believe it was true. I was.. persistent and came up with a quick plan to to convince the diver that he was indeed bent.

Experienced divers/instructors but yeah, they really didn't grasp the reality but for me walking in on it it was obvious. That's all fairly normal human behaviour

 

[davehicks]

I don't know what happened with Woody. The only problem we had was with the name "DAN". They actually use another company to underwrite them, and they were fully recognized. It absolutely did not impede the surgery I got to put in plates on my tibia and fibia. I couldn't imagine trying to get home on anything but first class.

+1 to that. I broke my fibula a few months ago in Uganda, while on my way to the airport for the flight home. No bones were sticking out so i just got on the plane. Would have been a nightmare if not in first class seating.

 

[The Chairman]

Experienced divers/instructors but yeah, they really didn't grasp the reality but for me walking in on it it was obvious. That's all fairly normal human behaviour

Denial, not just a river in Egypt.

 

[L13]

I arrived to where I would be teaching an instructor level class the next day around 8pm at night. Upon arrival it was obvious that one of the people that had been diving with my cheduled studenst had a type 2 hit when they told me they weren't feeling great and their appearance, gait , speech, etc immediatly caught my attention. A 5 min neuro and discussion over what diving they had been doing and I was 100% certain they were experiencing a type 2 DCS hit, The diver affected and buddies were not even close to wanting to believ it was true. I was.. persistent and came up with a quick plan to to convince the diver that he was indeed bent.

Experienced divers/instructors but yeah, they really didn't grasp the reality but for me walking in on it it was obvious. That's all fairly normal human behaviour

Except, they recognized it as the symptoms of being bent. Otherwise why would they jokingly accuse him of pretending to be bent. The had him on O2 for hours before even talking to a medical professional, let alone DAN! Why did they have him on O2 if they didn't think it was a Thing? And why would diving the next day even be a question for anyone you had to give O2 to?

Either they are exaggerating, or they are cowboys blaming others when it went wrong.

 

[tursiops]

Either they are exaggerating, or they are cowboys blaming others when it went wrong.

It is not either/or, but more likely both.

 

[Vicko]

To be fair, I personaly saw people who were unable to walk, soaked in their own urine who refused to take the (FREE) helicopter ride to the (FREE) chamber because they were convinced they were fine. I'm not making fun of Woody. Anybody can get injured or sick and should not be ashamed of it.

I am seriously doubting the expertise of the dive shop and the guide he was diving with.

 

[johndiver999]

Except, they recognized it as the symptoms of being bent. Otherwise why would they jokingly accuse him of pretending to be bent. The had him on O2 for hours before even talking to a medical professional, let alone DAN! Why did they have him on O2 if they didn't think it was a Thing? And why would diving the next day even be a question for anyone you had to give O2 to?

Either they are exaggerating, or they are cowboys blaming others when it went wrong.

Perhaps you have not seen instances where breathing oxygen for a while completely resolves decompression symptoms? If a diver is ambulatory and tired and seems to be improving from oxygen, it is not so hard to believe that people may choose to stay on o2 and see what happens.

I'm not saying that is prudent, but when the logistics and financial burdens are significant, sometimes people take a wait and see approach. In fact, if their video is correct, DAN was initially unsure if he needed recompression (even after the symptoms worsened) so why is it so unbelievable that the divers involved, initially thought he might recover without recompression (just oxygen)?

I've personally seen (and know of several people) who arrived on the surface bent and go down on nitrox for a while and get complete resolution (even happened to myself in 2023). Also seen oxygen on the boat resolve things without any further treatment.

Actually, I'm surprised they didn't encourage him to immediately drop down to 20 on oxygen, since they are absolutely positive that he did not skip some huge deco burden or do an explosive ascent. Again, I am not recommending that, but some people would have done that, I think.