Medical Waiver Form

[robint]

Is there some reason you want the dive op to know about your condition? Have you given any consideration to a dive ops refusing to accept your doctor's clearance?

I have never heard of a dive op refusing to accept a doctor's clearance. Seems like we would hear all about that happening here on SB. I don't know if I feel comfortable lying to a dive op either.... so I would count on their accepting his opinion. I think all they really want is someone else to blame if something goes wrong, and with a copy of my doctor's clearance, they would be in the clear legally if something did happen.

FYI - my husband has been an instructor for 8+ years, and he has certified numerous people with medical conditions as long as they have that letter from their doctor. Only once did he refuse a student for medical reasons, and that was halfway through a class when it was obvious the person could not safely complete the course (man was 60+ yrs old and a heavy smoker, so he could not stay underwater more than 10 minutes without sucking his tank dry). More than once he had students who had previously had heart attacks but had a note from their doctor! My condition was heart surgery, but a minor repair totally unrelated to heart disease.

---------- Post added May 21st, 2013 at 02:57 PM ----------

So what would happen if you answered "no".
net outcome seems the same to me, your heirs couldn't sue your Dr. For your poor judgement.

Bad thing about answering NO is that the crew doesn't know you might have a condition that would require help. If you had diabetes or a heart attack, treatment would be different even though in both cases you might be limp and unresponsive.... that would be important information.
Also, I really don't want someone trying to rescue someone, risking their own life, if the person had lied on the form. Multiple deaths for a lie is not good.

 

[boulderjohn]

Robin, I am surprised that you are asked to fill out a waiver for routine diving. My experience has been that it is almost never required except for instruction.

The WRSTC form works for most organizations. Page 2 of the form is where your doctor gives consent.

I took some TDI classes a while ago, and their first page (listing the conditions) was different from the WRSTC form, even though SDI is a member of the WRSTC. But the second page of the TDI form was exactly the same as the WRSTC form.

I would bet that if you got your doctor to sign the second page of the WRSTC form, you could attach it to just about any agency's first page.

 

[drrich2]

We've had this topic debated on other threads before. One issue that's come up is that once you identify an issue, you have to get a Dr.'s signed statement you're clear to dive.

Okay, let's say you take the time out & pay your co-pay to get your Dr. (who is probably not a diver and isn't familiar with what diving entails) to get your Dr. to assess you. What if he refuses though you disagree? After all, he's got his liability to think about.

But let's say he signs off for you. You've now got your free pass to dive, right? Weeelll...sorta. One thread on the forum had a diver irritated that though his issue was minor & pretty irrelevant, he had to get a new clearance every year. He had to see his Dr. & get this done, again, every year he wished to dive.

I don't know whether this is apt to apply to you, but I want you to be aware of it. A forum search may turn up some interesting, and contentious, old threads - such as your right to privacy & preventing irrational discrimination against yourself vs. the op.s/buddy's 'right' to know your condition & make informed decisions about whether to associate with you, whether the form is just a liability reducer & they don't care or it's a sincere effort to better insure your health and life, etc...

Richard.

 

[robint]

Robin, I am surprised that you are asked to fill out a waiver for routine diving. My experience has been that it is almost never required except for instruction.

The WRSTC form works for most organizations. Page 2 of the form is where your doctor gives consent.

I took some TDI classes a while ago, and their first page (listing the conditions) was different from the WRSTC form, even though SDI is a member of the WRSTC. But the second page of the TDI form was exactly the same as the WRSTC form.

I would bet that if you got your doctor to sign the second page of the WRSTC form, you could attach it to just about any agency's first page.

Wow. Everywhere we have been they make you fill out a form just like the PADI Divers Medical Questionaire, with all the conditions listed and a blank next to each one where you must write YES or NO. Scuba Club Cozumel, CocoView Roatan, Buddy Dive Bonaire, all boats in Calif, all liveaboards we have done, etc.... the ONLY time we might not have done it was on single day boat trips in Cozumel with a couple of dive ops that didn't even ask questions, just pay $$.

 

[boulderjohn]

Wow. Everywhere we have been they make you fill out a form just like the PADI Divers Medical Questionaire, with all the conditions listed and a blank next to each one where you must write YES or NO. Scuba Club Cozumel, CocoView Roatan, Buddy Dive Bonaire, all boats in Calif, all liveaboards we have done, etc.... the ONLY time we might not have done it was on single day boat trips in Cozumel with a couple of dive ops that didn't even ask questions, just pay $$.

I have never been with any of the ones you mentioned, although you didn't specify the liveaboards. I know I have never filled one out in Cozumel (except when I took a class once), and I have dived with 6 different operators there.

 

[uncfnp]

I have yet to be asked to fill out a Medical Questionnaire to dive but I have never dove through a resort or liveaboard. I assume that must be the difference. I did complete the form for each class I have taken, Padi and SDI.

 

[JohnN]

You can not waive the legal rights of others (like your heirs).

Agreed, but if your Dr. is not involved in providing a medical release. There would be little basis for a suit, would there ?

 

[Wookie]

Robin, we will ask you a simple question, which is "Do you have any contraindications to diving". You must answer that question before we take your booking. If you answer no, all is well, you have told us that you have no contraindication to diving. HIPAA precludes me asking anything else. If you answer yes, we ask you to get a signed note on letterhead stating that your doctor knows of your particular contraindication, that he understands the risks associated with diving with that particular contraindication, and that you and he accept the risks. Note, HIPAA still doesn't allow me to ask what your issue is, only that I transfer the liability for diving back to you.

I know other countries don't have HIPAA, but I would be stunned if an operator didn't accept a note like I have described above. We really don't care if you want to dive and off yourself, all we care about is that we don't get sued over it. You and your doctor telling me that you knew of the risks and accepted them is more than sufficient in a court to prove to your heirs that you knew what you were getting into.

Now, if you have a condition you think I should know about before you dive, I'm all ears. A ferinstance might be that you have extreme sensitivity to marine stings, and you will go into anaphylactic shock and must be treated with an epi-pen if stung, gee, it would be nice to know, and nice to know where your epi-pen is too. But it's really your business. I'll Macgyver a pen into your trachea if need be.

Said with a smile.

 

[DocVikingo]

Properly done dive medicals that are in strict conformance with Australian Standard AS4005.1-2000 ("Training and certification of recreational divers - Minimum entry-level SCUBA diving," are almost universally accepted by dive ops world wide. The particulars of AS4005.1-2000 are found in Appendix A, which can be downloaded/printed out free here --> http://www.gpcme.co.nz/pdf/AS 4005....divers - Minimum entry-level SCUBA diving.pdf

Laminate the original for longer life.

Best of luck.

DocVikingo

 

[vladimir]

Robin, I often have to fill out those medical waivers for routine diving. Luckily I can still check "no" for everything. At the risk of stating the obvious, I would communicate with your intended dive operator in advance and fax them your medical clearance beforehand, so there is less chance of a surprise.