Skipper charged in diver death
- Thread starter DandyDon
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Herb-alaska
Contributor
Both the Diver and the Captain are responsible for this accident, The Diver paid with a being dead the Captain is paying with jail time and it sounds like financial ruin. Both people went into this trying to get rich quick. ( skimp on equipment and training) Keep in mind that there is no fast way to get rich and if it sounds to good to be true then it probably is. Both divers screwed up the Captain is legally responsible but they both carry the blame. Why should the family have the right to sue and continue to punish the captain beyond what the courts already have done. Personal responsibility should be in play here.
scagrotto
Contributor
You're 100% right. Maybe that's why the jury convicted the guy who was responsible for supplying an air compressor that wasn't suitable for diving. The article doesn't say, but since the guy who supplied the compressor also owned the boat I'm guessing the two weren't equal partners, either.
Herb-alaska
Contributor
both people had to have a permit but it is somewhat common to have two divers co-op on the boat. Joint share on the expense so it is a partnership somewhat but they both would be diving their own permit
the key is someone bought a permit and took a quickie class and then said I am a harvest diver now, that wasn't the case otherwise he would have inspected and found the equipment not to be safe. Now it is possible that both divers inspected and found it acceptable and only one is here to be punished Either way they both screwed up and are paying a price. Im sorry for the diver's death but personally i am big on personal responsibility He knew what he was doing or should have known because he was the permit holder meaning he owned his own business this is not a case of a employer hiring some kid to do a job. Harvest diving only the permit owner can be in the water
Wodyga lost on appeal back in July of 2019. He claimed that although he was rather careless, it was not *likely* that Adams would die; he just got unlucky. Adams was pretty green at the time, had 50-ish hours. On his very first dive the day before he lost a fin and his weight belt so it sounds like he was struggling underwater anyway. The compressor was also struggling that day, sputtering and spitting water or something. It was a shop air compressor with a placard saying "Danger! NEVER breathe compressed air, it can contain carbon monoxide or other contaminants. Will cause serious injury or death" so that's sort of damning... He was also using grocery store vegetable oil instead of synthetic, 3/4" air tool hose instead of 1 1/2", and the filter bolts were rusted out and appeared to have never been opened ever. There is never any mention of a bailout bottle.
Wodyga seems to claim that's just they way everyone rolls in the Ketchikan 'cuke biz. As long as the money keeps flowing everyone's happy and nobody cares; he just had a bad day. It seems to be a whole different world away from our multiply redundant recreational mindset! Anyone here able to shed some light on that?
My source:
Wodyga v. State, Court of Appeals No. A-12418 | Casetext
Wodyga seems to claim that's just they way everyone rolls in the Ketchikan 'cuke biz. As long as the money keeps flowing everyone's happy and nobody cares; he just had a bad day. It seems to be a whole different world away from our multiply redundant recreational mindset! Anyone here able to shed some light on that?
My source:
Wodyga v. State, Court of Appeals No. A-12418 | Casetext
and so it should , osha is there to stop this this kind of stupidity , or at least educate its sad that some one lost their life at work ....AGAIN
But is it there? Are these guys considered "commercial divers" under OSHA? The case seems less 'a few corners were cut' and more 'third world: anything goes'! If Wodyga is to be believed everybody did it and presumably still does it. Workplace safety rules do not seem to have played a part in the court case, only general liability and gross legligence.Wondering if anyone knows what sort of regulatory regime Adams and Wodyga (and their colleges today) are under.
commercial sea cuke is a big industry here in BC with 99% of the product going to Asia
it was a commercial op plain and simple either here or in the us
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