Scuba "Buddy" Release form - Has anyone come across one?

[Edward3c]

I assume from that the possibility exists that the legal situation is different (or potentially so) in other states? This is an issue for us non-US visitors as we often assume (wrongly) the USA has one law for the whole country.

I have always had DAN insurance which includes legal expenses, however the BSAC Malta case made me realise the level of cover is inadequate (risible in fact). For us Europeans DAN does not cover the USA either.

That's why I use Westfield. I'll be in Florida and Belize in June.

 

[cedricw02]

What follows is slightly off topic, but I think it illustrates the uncertain legal status of the diving community in terms of liability.

You may know the name Richie Kohler. He was involved with the exploration of the German U-Boat described in the book Shadow Divers, and he teamed with John Chatterton on the TV show Deep Sea Detectives and other shows and adventures. My memory of the details is sketchy, but Richie was sued by the family of a diver who died on a trip he led--IIRC, it was to the Andrea Doria. The diver was highly qualified, and he signed the typical waiver, which did no good. As I understand it, the basis of the lawsuit was that, in the family's opinion, Kohler had not adequately explained the dangers of that particular dive site before the diver signed up for the dive. The suit was eventually dismissed, but Kohler went through Hell for a while.

The story, which I got from John Chatterton's written description of it, scared me. I was regularly then leading dives to a 280-foot deep sinkhole in New Mexico, and I was wondering if I needed to write a description of the known dangers of the site. I gave it a shot, but one of my former students, an attorney, stopped me. This was not her area of law, but she had learned in her training that such a statement from me could be used as evidence that I knew that the dive site was too dangerous for some of the people who were diving there. In other words, by trying to protect myself by warning people of the risk, I might actually be putting myself at risk. (Damned if you do; damned if you don't.) She really wasn't sure what was best, and she suggested I contact an attorney who specialized in that sort of thing.

I would also like to discuss
future legal prospects with this company to get known to all the possibilities.

Really appreciate you sharing that story, John. I'm relatively new to leading dives, this whole discussion has been a real eye-opener. I’ve been wrestling with the same dilemma, how to communicate risks clearly without accidentally increasing liability exposure. The Richie Kohler case you mentioned just highlights how unpredictable legal outcomes can be, even when waivers are signed and divers are experienced.

 

[rjack321]

What follows is slightly off topic, but I think it illustrates the uncertain legal status of the diving community in terms of liability.

You may know the name Richie Kohler. He was involved with the exploration of the German U-Boat described in the book Shadow Divers, and he teamed with John Chatterton on the TV show Deep Sea Detectives and other shows and adventures. My memory of the details is sketchy, but Richie was sued by the family of a diver who died on a trip he led--IIRC, it was to the Andrea Doria. The diver was highly qualified, and he signed the typical waiver, which did no good. As I understand it, the basis of the lawsuit was that, in the family's opinion, Kohler had not adequately explained the dangers of that particular dive site before the diver signed up for the dive. The suit was eventually dismissed, but Kohler went through Hell for a while.

The story, which I got from John Chatterton's written description of it, scared me. I was regularly then leading dives to a 280-foot deep sinkhole in New Mexico, and I was wondering if I needed to write a description of the known dangers of the site. I gave it a shot, but one of my former students, an attorney, stopped me. This was not her area of law, but she had learned in her training that such a statement from me could be used as evidence that I knew that the dive site was too dangerous for some of the people who were diving there. In other words, by trying to protect myself by warning people of the risk, I might actually be putting myself at risk. (Damned if you do; damned if you don't.) She really wasn't sure what was best, and she suggested I contact an attorney who specialized in that sort of thing.

Have run across the same concerns in other activities as well. If whitewater rivers are dangerous to boats and tubers etc you should tell them. Wait, hold up a second, if rivers are <that> dangerous why are you allowing people to go boating?

This plays out all over again when caves and diving are concerned