Legal liability of dive buddy

[t4e]

The US court system disagrees with your assessment of legal liability.

yet Gabe Watson is a free man


unless its a case that falls under criminal law, anything else will have to be dealt with as a tort

good luck proving negligence and breach of duty of care in the case of dive buddies, even harder when there are no witnesses and the only available account of what happened is that of the survivor

 

[jimmy71]

Ahhhhh good ol' Alabama. Please do not judge us by the decisions they make.

 

[684773]

Hey all,

I have been doing some reading and thinking lately and came across this Scuba Diving Buddies: Rights, Obligations, and Liabilities by Phyllis G. Coleman :: SSRN The paper looks like a law students addressing the courts decisions on legal liability with buddies. The decisions seem to be inconsistent. I know from medical malpractice, fault and payments are more based on bad outcomes then actual neglect.

My buddy is there for emergencies. If I intend to use my buddy in an emergency it is MY responsibility to stay near him (and vise versa). It is not my job to manage my buddies air and/or decompression status, as this is a basic expectation of all divers regardless of experience. The idea of a dead insta-buddies pissed off family suing me for them screwing up makes me sick.

I will say that I voice these expectations to anyone assigned to dive with me at the start and state that I will not be offended if they ask for someone else, but I can see that this will not hold up in court. With many boats insisting on a buddy regardless of certification level, they are forcing me into a contract and the obligations associated with it.

I would love to hear some opinions.

Jimmy

PS- I know I am not a nice person and a reallllllllllly crappy buddy. I just believe in self responsibility. If I die or get hurt, I just want to make sure it is from my own actions.

I hate to dive with people I don't know , who have big camera rigs, who are new divers , or in any form pose a threat to my safety or enjoyment. When on a charter they couldn't care less . What can I do?

 

[LI-er]

I hate to dive with people I don't know , who have big camera rigs, who are new divers , or in any form pose a threat to my safety or enjoyment. When on a charter they couldn't care less . What can I do?

Get solo certified and learn proper forum etiquette. Here's your first lesson: Don't post to very old threads. Either find a newer relevant one or start your own.

 

[happy-diver]

The jury may be out on that one, considering the system could not find, twelve
experienced divers but inexperienced in forums that had also had a buddy loss