Suggestion Legal Forum

[ScubaDocER]

I was reading a post by Peter Guy today that got me to thinking. He commented on the amount of misinformation that exists about legal issues concerning diving. Is there an interest in creating a Legal Forum that would address the plethora of legal questions related to diving that seem to appear on the Board? Some questions get asked over and over and I did not know if the legal folks on SB would be willing to help moderate it or at least make sure it's moving in the right direction. We have a Medical Forum here, why not a Legal Forum. What say yee?

 

[Gombessa]

I think it is a pity that liability seems to be the main stumbling block for some. In that case would any advice given on here that could potentially lead to a person having an accident or incident while diving be cause for litigation?

Again, I'm with Peter, I don't see this as being very likely, and I'm sure any attorney who wishes to participate but has concern about it could and would include disclaimers and couch their language to a degree to which they're comfortable.

 

[RonFrank]

I think it is a horrible idea to have a legal forum for SO many reasons. As we don't like to heavily moderate our members, misinformation would abound even if we were to heavily moderate such a beast.

Laws vary by state, and in the US it is confusing enough. Now kick in the entire world, and what do we have?

From a mod standpoint, I see this as a bad idea. From a user standpoint I see this as a Horrible idea. From a fun standpoint, I see it as a NOGO!

There is nothing to prevent discussions involving legal issues in any forum. IMO, that is enough.

 

[ScubaDocER]

Again I want to say thank you to everyone, especially the attorneys, who chose to participate. It is clear that there are mixed feelings regarding this issue and not enough support from the legal minds here to move this forward. I appreciate all of your responses.

Peter : I am indeed aware that TSandM is your lovely wife and I always take a moment to read when either of you have posted something, even if it is in a area I do not normally visit. I usually learn something along the way

Gombessa : I agree that medicine in some ways is a lot clearer than the law. It does make responding to medical questions easier since the human body does not change much across state lines. The law seems to scare and intimidate many people, especially Instructors. Sometimes it's nice to have someone explain portions of it to you such that it is more palatable and less frightening. Jurisdictions aside, often times the simplest answers are the best ones, even if they may not apply to more remote places in the world.

livinoz : It does not necessarily have to be an adjunct to the A&I threads. It could certainly stand alone. I saw it as more of a prevention/educational place. Not to necessarily hash over an injury or mishap, but to hopefully suggest or explain to someone better avenues of accomplishing a task or goal. While it can be whatever someone wants it to be, my desire would be that it is more informative than accusatory or harmful.

Thank you again everyone for considering this idea.