I didn't find this case during a search of 2005 incidents or I'd have appended it as an update. It should be an interesting lawsuit to follow.
Note the mention that "a recent study showed that older divers were at a high risk of suffering cardiac episodes as a result of the pressure during diving."
Appeals court reinstates family's lawsuit in scuba diver's death
By Denise Nix Staff Writer
Posted: 05/27/2010 06:50:43 PM PDT
The family of a scuba diver who ran out of air and died off Catalina Island can move forward with its wrongful death case against the company that rented him equipment, an appellate court has ruled.
In an opinion issued Wednesday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal reinstated the lawsuit against Catalina Scuba Luv, finding the waiver of liability Raffi Huverserian signed did not apply to him.
The appeal focuses specifically on the heading in a passage of the document that Huverserian signed before diving with his then 17-year-old son off Casino Point in Avalon on March 30, 2005.
The passage releasing renters from the right to sue Catalina Scuba Luv for injury or death is titled: "Equipment rental agreement, liability release and assumption of risk of scuba and snorkel gear for boat dives or multiple day rentals."
Huverserian's family maintains - and the appellate justices agreed - that the passage does not apply to Huverserian because he was not diving from a boat or renting equipment for multiple
days.
Catalina Scuba Luv, which had won a dismissal motion two years old, maintains that the release applies to all scuba gear renters.
Catalina Scuba Luv attorney David Rose said the appellate court took a "draconian interpretation" of the release's language.
"The Court of Appeal seemed to just hook on the title," Rose said.
Rose said that, nonetheless, his clients are not responsible for Huverserian's death due to a heart attack because they had nothing to do with the equipment.
He added that a recent study showed that older divers were at a high risk of suffering cardiac episodes as a result of the pressure during diving.
Catalina Scuba Luv can still appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Huverserian, of Northridge, ran out of air about 60 feet below the surface, He made a controlled ascent by breathing with his son on his air tank, according to the opinion.
However, on the beach, Huverserian went into cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated by medical personnel in Avalon and transferred to a hospital on the mainland, where he died the next day, the opinion states.
His wife and two children sued on April 2, 2007, in the San Pedro Annex of the Long Beach Superior Court. Judge Roy Paul granted Catalina Scuba Luv's motion for judgment on July 28, 2008, and Huverserian's family appealed.
The family's attorney, Steven R. Friedman, said that the precedent-setting case should get the attention of those who use such liability waivers for school, sports or other activities.
"Really, if you're gonna get this kind of release, it should be on a separate document, unambiguous and clear," Friedman said.
"When someone doesn't do that, they're trying to slip one by the public, and that's not allowed, for very good reason," he added.
Friedman said Huverserian, 45, was in good shape and an experienced diver.
He said the gauge that Catalina Scuba Luv gave him ran high, there wasn't enough air in the rental tank and he was given too much weight for the dive.
Huverserian's death has devastated his family, said Friedman, who is also a family friend.
"They are a husband and wife who met in high school and married," Friedman said. "She hasn't recovered."
Source: Appeals court reinstates family's lawsuit in scuba diver's death - The Daily Breeze
Note the mention that "a recent study showed that older divers were at a high risk of suffering cardiac episodes as a result of the pressure during diving."
Appeals court reinstates family's lawsuit in scuba diver's death
By Denise Nix Staff Writer
Posted: 05/27/2010 06:50:43 PM PDT
The family of a scuba diver who ran out of air and died off Catalina Island can move forward with its wrongful death case against the company that rented him equipment, an appellate court has ruled.
In an opinion issued Wednesday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal reinstated the lawsuit against Catalina Scuba Luv, finding the waiver of liability Raffi Huverserian signed did not apply to him.
The appeal focuses specifically on the heading in a passage of the document that Huverserian signed before diving with his then 17-year-old son off Casino Point in Avalon on March 30, 2005.
The passage releasing renters from the right to sue Catalina Scuba Luv for injury or death is titled: "Equipment rental agreement, liability release and assumption of risk of scuba and snorkel gear for boat dives or multiple day rentals."
Huverserian's family maintains - and the appellate justices agreed - that the passage does not apply to Huverserian because he was not diving from a boat or renting equipment for multiple
days.
Catalina Scuba Luv, which had won a dismissal motion two years old, maintains that the release applies to all scuba gear renters.
Catalina Scuba Luv attorney David Rose said the appellate court took a "draconian interpretation" of the release's language.
"The Court of Appeal seemed to just hook on the title," Rose said.
Rose said that, nonetheless, his clients are not responsible for Huverserian's death due to a heart attack because they had nothing to do with the equipment.
He added that a recent study showed that older divers were at a high risk of suffering cardiac episodes as a result of the pressure during diving.
Catalina Scuba Luv can still appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Huverserian, of Northridge, ran out of air about 60 feet below the surface, He made a controlled ascent by breathing with his son on his air tank, according to the opinion.
However, on the beach, Huverserian went into cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated by medical personnel in Avalon and transferred to a hospital on the mainland, where he died the next day, the opinion states.
His wife and two children sued on April 2, 2007, in the San Pedro Annex of the Long Beach Superior Court. Judge Roy Paul granted Catalina Scuba Luv's motion for judgment on July 28, 2008, and Huverserian's family appealed.
The family's attorney, Steven R. Friedman, said that the precedent-setting case should get the attention of those who use such liability waivers for school, sports or other activities.
"Really, if you're gonna get this kind of release, it should be on a separate document, unambiguous and clear," Friedman said.
"When someone doesn't do that, they're trying to slip one by the public, and that's not allowed, for very good reason," he added.
Friedman said Huverserian, 45, was in good shape and an experienced diver.
He said the gauge that Catalina Scuba Luv gave him ran high, there wasn't enough air in the rental tank and he was given too much weight for the dive.
Huverserian's death has devastated his family, said Friedman, who is also a family friend.
"They are a husband and wife who met in high school and married," Friedman said. "She hasn't recovered."
Source: Appeals court reinstates family's lawsuit in scuba diver's death - The Daily Breeze
