Info Is DAN Insurance worthwhile?

[SlugLife]

Do you think since Woody violated the terms of service that it is strange that not only did DAN pay but reimbursement came quickly, do you think this treatment and waiver of the rules was due to his celebrity and the reach of his Dive Talk channel and the negative PR that DT can generate? Or did DAN treat Woody the same as any other reimbursement ?

I've been avoiding "taking sides" as I don't think there is enough information, but here is a plausible explanation (that may or may-not be true):

DAN is an organization, with multiple people of different levels of experience, knowledge, and training. They're also a business, and no business will just throw cash like it's confetti.

When Woody's symptoms got worse, and Woody needed help NOW, the people at DAN who were available to assist, lacked the expertise or resources to respond quickly and properly, and may not have sought help from others in DAN who could do that. These inexperienced employees likely "do things by the book," and that book says to not put DAN on the hook for potentially paying out millions of dollars. After the incident escalates, Woody arranges his own transport, etc you now have people higher up in the DAN organization stepping into look at the case.

Woody likely was always going to be reimbursed eventually, regardless of his "celebrity" status (or ability to sue). It's just that the wrong people were handling his case, and something in the process at DAN was a little broken.

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Again, this is just an example plausible story. If this is the real story, it sucks for Woody of course, because even if he is reimbursed eventually, what he really needed DAN for was getting the right medical treatment quickly. And if this is the way the story happened, I hope DAN looks into how the process broke down.

 

[tursiops]

. $30k is no small amount of money, but also isn't something one has to be a millionaire to have saved up.

You don't need the $30k in hand, you just need a CC.

 

[Boarderguy]

the issue is that having some dive pros trained to do IWR isn't the answer either.

Oxygen is actually a controlled drug, and doing treatments with a controlled drug when not a medical professional is .. well illegal and that aside one hella way to take on big liability.

I am not going to argue aginst IWR as working(I know it can, has and have some experience in it).. But can't see where we get to wide traction for the liability and legal reasons.

I'll try and stay on topic here for this instance...

They had 100% O2 already and they were administering that to him. They are all highly trained and a few of them instructors for its use. This was not outside the realm of responsible use.

I have an AL80 of O2 I keep in my truck with a single 2nd and spg for just this type of incident. Breathing that while waiting on an ambulance or grabbing it and going back down until its empty is its purpose in life. At the end of the day I'm safer with it than without.

Unfortunately lawyers and those relatives of deceased who refuse to accept the responsibly of actions taken cause the "liability" delay.

 

[johndiver999]

DAN is not going to recommend that people untrained, with no medical supervision conduct IWR.

I reread my quote, when I said I am surprised "they" didn't recommend he drop down again, I was referring to his buddy and guide. I never thought it might be interpreted as DAN telling them to do IWR. I should have been clearer.

Woody could have gone down with a buddy and have a third person call DAN, if they chose to do so.

Also it sounds like their guide left them at/in the water and was loading the van when he was at surface. Seems like a better SOP would be for the guide to be on the surface to make immediate assessments, after a deco of like 70 minutes?

 

[johndiver999]

You don't need the $30k in hand, you just need a CC.

If you watched the video, his visa and mastercard were both denied repeatedly, even after he contacted them, and for a much lesser amount.

 

[cerich]

I reread my quote, when I said I am surprised "they" didn't recommend he drop down again, I was referring to his buddy and guide. I never thought it might be interpreted as DAN telling them to do IWR. I should have been clearer.

Woody could have gone down with a buddy and have a third person call DAN, if they chose to do so.

Also it sounds like their guide left them at/in the water and was loading the van when he was at surface. Seems like a better SOP would be for the guide to be on the surface to make immediate assessments, after a deco of like 70 minutes?

I consider Gus and Woody friends, and the guide an aquantaince with whom I share many good friends. I could quibble on a hundred things that were done/not done the whole thing. But, the whole thing is not wildly outside the bell curve for real life in this type of diving It should be, it's not.

 

[Vicko]

No insurance can recommend a medical procedure with no supervision from a medical professional, that's how you get sued.
Also IWR with no definite diagnosis is also a great way to get drowned.

THere is no magic call a insurer can make to get you out of trouble,. when diving remote locations it's always a good idea to have your own plan.

 

[tursiops]

If you watched the video, his visa and mastercard were both denied repeatedly, even after he contacted them, and for a much lesser amount.

He needed a better CC company, and to notify them before travling overseas.

 

[Boarderguy]

Also IWR with no definite diagnosis is also a great way to get drowned.

A medical diagnosis wouldn't prevent drowning. Going down with a buddy to monitor and assist is the sop for IWR. The risk is mitigated this way and is better than staying at the surface.

 

[Marie13]

He needed a better CC company, and to notify them before travling overseas.

I don’t know about the banks Woody’s cards were through, but I’m with Chase and when I went to notify them I was going to Mexico last year, the Chase mobile app said they no longer need to be notified. They use other metrics to prevent fraud. I even called and asked and they said they didn’t need to know.