Judge rules-Abandoned diver can sue charter company

[D_B]

as Mike (Merxlin) says, this is old news and I'll bet that anyone that has gone out on a boat in the last few years has noticed a very conscientious effort at head counts and roll calls and sign in's .. that's been my (limited) experience

 

[Riger]

as Mike (Merxlin) says, this is old news and I'll bet that anyone that has gone out on a boat in the last few years has noticed a very conscientious effort at head counts and roll calls and sign in's .. that's been my (limited) experience

Perhaps because of this kind of suite ?


Regards
Richard (Riger)

 

[RonFrank]

I remember reading about, and commenting on this incident when I first joined SB! Amazing how the legal systems grinds away so slowly!

At the time, I believe the general consensus was that while the diver acted foolishly (can't remember why, but was left with this impression) the crew was at fault for leaving him.

I believe they did a roll call at the first site at the end of the dive, and another diver indicated he was onboard. That would explain why he was accounted for after the first site, but not after the second roll call at the end of the second dive.

I completely agree with Rick, this whole mess will only make things more expensive for the industry, and will do very little at this point in any positive direction. Any positive steps were completed long ago by those involved who did learn from this incident.

And what would we expect from a State who has found Gun Manufactures guilty of the crimes committed by criminals using their product?

The ONLY people who are going to WIN with friveless lawsuits like this are the Lawyers. I'm guessing at this point the prosecution will never let this go because he is doing this pro-bono, and won't get paid until they settle or win. 4M for this wrong is IMO a joke. And it WILL be a joke after the plaintiff receives what is left of the settlement after legal fees/cuts, and taxes. Heck, he may own money!

 

[Papa_Bear]

That is very true! Punitive damages are taxable! The show up on the front page and deducted on the backside! In the 9th district there is a question as to the deductibility of the Attorney fees? He may have more trauma in his future! And yes you remembered right! One of his buddies when they were separated "though he went back to the boat and told the DM he was aboard"!

 

[Clammy]

btw - that should 'signed', unless the waiver has been scorched

I singe and scorch my waivers all the time after I sign them. They always take them away from me before I can finish though.

 

[Thalassamania]

I dont' think it's a "good thing" at all.
While a "good thing" is the adoption of procedures that absolutely assure no one is accidentaly left behind, that can be accomplished without setting an industry-killing precedent.
If this case resets the needed policy limits ceiling high enough, many if not most of us won't be able to afford to dive off a commercial boat anymore, and without us, most commercial boats will simply stop selling diving spots.
Nope... not "a good thing" at all.
Rick

General aviation was done in not by negligence questions, but rather by product liability issues for aging aircraft that the companies were still "responsible" for. Very different issue I think.

 

[BarryNL]

Not that being left alone in the ocean is ok, but the guy was only out there for four hours, not four days. Don't get me wrong, I would be plenty pissed off, scared,etc., but I can't say that I would sue all of these people. He claims skin cancer from THESE four hours of exposure, give me a break! California is the "sue capital" of the U.S.A. No wonder businesses can't afford insurance, workers compensation and the like. I hope all he gets is a free dive weekend out of this, and that it helps the dive industry to improve their safety standards so that things like this do not happen to other divers.

Sorry, but any dive operation that can't manage the simple task of making sure they have all their divers back on board before leaving a dive site deserves to get sued into bankruptcy.

 

[Katamuki]

Maybe the Boy Scouts should sue the diver for ruining thier sailing day because he couldnt keep up with his dive partner like he was supposed to. At the very least, if he does win he had better make a hefty donation to the Scouts...

 

[Jim Kerr]

I dont' think it's a "good thing" at all.
While a "good thing" is the adoption of procedures that absolutely assure no one is accidentaly left behind, that can be accomplished without setting an industry-killing precedent.
If this case resets the needed policy limits ceiling high enough, many if not most of us won't be able to afford to dive off a commercial boat anymore, and without us, most commercial boats will simply stop selling diving spots.
Nope... not "a good thing" at all.
Rick

It's a good thing only because it will make Dive OPs like this one more accountable. I don't want to see a bunch of sue happy people either screwing it up for the rest of us. But if that suit woke up some of the dive OPs with similar attitudes and influenced them to hold more rigid roll calls then it's served it's purpose. Checking you on and off a written list as you enter and exit the water should be standard procedure.

I was left behind just this last Nov when I was in Fiji. We had joined 2 other boats at an island where they did a snorkle SI. We were the last boat to arrive and the DM said we would be there for 30 minutes. I was snorkling for about 10 minutes and lifted my head up only to see "my" boat pulling away and the other 2 boats pulling up anchor. Obviously it worked out OK but that's how easy it can happen. No one on the boat I was on (crew or fellow divers) even noticed that they were missing anybody.

Because of that, I think that we as divers should share some of the responsibility (not liability) to look out for each other. Because of incidents like the one we are discussing I have made it a habit to look around when the boat starts pulling away to see if anyone is missing. If I don't see someone then I'll ask the DM if that person is on the boat. So far the answer has always been yes and they're up top getting a little sun or in the head or something. It gives me a little piece of mind knowing that I at least spoke up when I was in doubt before it was too late.

 

[drbill]

When I posted earlier (in another thread on this subject), I had forgotten the Sundiver was the boat involved. I've never dived on it, but everything I've heard from those who have suggest it is a well-run operation. Sorry this happened to them. I believe this was a charter and that DM's were supplied by the chartering entity, but I may be wrong on that. The memory ain't what it used to be!