I have to take issue with some of the comments on this thread to the effect that the victim is the only one to blame because she needs to be responsible for herself. This BS is spouted by negligent people all the time to take the spotlight off themselves and deflect it onto the victim.
Think it through. Everybody, on all sides of the accident has to be responsible. It's not only the obligation of the diver.
The Diver The diver has to be responsible for what? For herself, for her gear, her training, her knowledge of her comfort level. Lot's more too, that we can set to one side for purposes of this discussion.
The Dive Operator The Dive Operator has responsibilities too. The Operator knows the site. The Operator knows much more about any unusual conditions that will be encountered than any of the divers. Here, the Operator knew that there would be ripping currents. The Operator knew that not one of the 17 divers had ever tried this "reef hooking" stunt before. If you have superior knowledge about some danger that your customers are going to encounter, and you know that your customers don't have experience dealing with that danger, you have some responsibility to deal with that issue. That responsibility may be more than drawing a diagram and handing out reef hooks. It may include not letting some or all of the divers go on the dive.
The Instructor/Scuba Training Agency I have to wonder about the instruction this victim received, particularly if she was relatively inexperienced. As Mike has pointed out, the industry sells this sport as being virtually risk-free. There's little emphasis on practicing dealing with panic and stress. And yes, it can be done. That's why the military and the airlines put people through nasty training and realistic simulators. I suspect that this woman never tried breathing without her mask since her OW certification dive. Few divers do. Just about nobody tells them they ought to. They're told the opposite - scuba diving is like bowling. Do what you want, however you want. It's all up to you. It's your "personal responsibility". This attitude of minimizing very real risks is an avoidance of responsibility for the industry when the inevitable happens and somebody dies because their training was inadequate.
This woman is solely responsible only if she knew that she was embarking on a difficult and challenging dive, that her skills were inadequate to do this dive, that the current was strong enough to rip her mask and fins off once she "hooked in," and that she could be in a high-stress panic situation without a nearby buddy. If she went ahead knowing all the risks and accepting them, then she (or her estate) has no basis to complain. But if she didn't know what she was letting herself in for, then the people who did know, and had a duty to tell her, and didn't tell her, have to bear their share of the responsibility
Theoperator and the training agency must take some "personal responsibility" for the products they are selling.
