Suit filed in case of "Girl dead, boy injured at Glacier National Park

[Bob DBF]

The non-standard inflator was of interest to me; I see lots of drysuits up here in the Great Lakes, and didn't know what a non-standard inflator meant.

Standard is another term for usual, and there is no reason any manufacturer should not build what they consider the best form. The inconvience is only to those that try to those that have an issue they want to solve immediately.

Why scuba didn't use one of the two standard air hose fittings used at the time, shall we start there. Usually fittings are made to different standards so they won't be interchanged onto an incomparable system. One reason not to use standard air hose fittings is that the air used in those systems is not clean enough to be breathing gas.

I had an inflators/reg combination with one of the three, that I know of, connectors used on them. I kept this in mind for my save a dive kit. If I did not have the proper hose, I have a lot of experience to draw on in my decision to dive and/or modify the dive plan.

The issue is not a non standard inflators, it was the standard for that manufacturer, but an instructor that would not call the dive for an equipment issue, and a diver that was too green to know this was a serious problem and that instructors are not infallible.

 

[Ayisha]

I doubt the instructor who told her she could dive without an inflator hose took the time to cut the neck seal to fit, but it might have happened to fit already. I see no reason to think a tight neck seal contributed to her death. Where did you read that she was asphyxiated, not drowned?

Many times throughout the Complaint, including in at least 6 of the Counts of Negligence.

Most notably:

80. The compression of air inside enclosed spaces while a diver descends is known as “squeeze.” “Squeeze” can be uncomfortable at shallow depths, increasingly painful as the diver continues to descend, and fatal as a diver approaches a depth of as little as 100 feet, where the water pressure surrounding the diver’s body is three times more than the ambient pressure on the surface.

208. At a depth of 59 feet, the water pressure on Linnea’s body would be 25.53 pounds per square inch (“psi”), almost double what she experienced at the surface. At this point, Linnea was experiencing suit “squeeze,” which would have been painful. She was visibly exhibiting the symptoms of “squeeze,”
including the inability to breathe without restriction, to kick freely, and to move her arms freely. She was obviously having difficulty breathing, exhaling frequently and sharply.

224. The audio captured by the GoPro camera indicates that Linnea was trying desperately to breathe, but she was unable to do so due to the pressure being exerted on her body and the squeeze exerted by her dry suit. The walls of Linnea’s torso, her chest and her neck were being crushed by the dry suit.

238. This misinformation was intended to mislead the official investigation into Linnea’s death, and it succeeded in doing so. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant, Jeannine Olson’s, misstatements to the investigating authorities, in violation of Montana law, the Montana State Medical
Examiner, Aldo J. Fusaro, D.O., overlooked critical evidence of Linnea’s manner of death, including severe bruising on Linnea’s neck and body caused by dry suit squeeze; pulmonary edema caused by negative hydrostatic pressure; and the presence of watery sphenoid sinus fluid caused by Linnea’s rapid descent and inability to mitigate squeeze in her sinuses and nasal cavity.
Consequently, Dr. Fusaro mistakenly categorized the manner of death as “Accidental,” and he completely overlooked the actual cause of Linnea’s death by drowning.

259. Prior to dying, Linnea survived her personal injuries proximately caused by the negligence of Gull Dive, for a period of time, injuries that included, but were not limited to, hypoxia, respiratory arrest, hypoxic convulsion, negative pressure pulmonary edema, accumulation of sphenoid sinus fluid, loss of consciousness, cardiac arrest, severe bruising and squeeze of her torso and neck, asphyxiation, severe emotional distress and mental anguish.

 

[Esprise Me]

Many times throughout the Complaint, including in at least 6 of the Counts of Negligence.

Most notably:

224. The audio captured by the GoPro camera indicates that Linnea was trying
desperately to breathe, but she was unable to do so due to the pressure being
exerted on her body and the squeeze exerted by her dry suit. The walls of
Linnea’s torso, her chest and her neck were being crushed by the dry suit.

238. This misinformation was intended to mislead the official investigation into
Linnea’s death, and it succeeded in doing so. As a direct and proximate result
of Defendant, Jeannine Olson’s, misstatements to the investigating
authorities, in violation of Montana law, the Montana State Medical
Examiner, Aldo J. Fusaro, D.O., overlooked critical evidence of Linnea’s
manner of death, including severe bruising on Linnea’s neck and body caused
by dry suit squeeze; pulmonary edema caused by negative hydrostatic
pressure; and the presence of watery sphenoid sinus fluid caused by Linnea’s
rapid descent and inability to mitigate squeeze in her sinuses and nasal cavity.
Consequently, Dr. Fusaro mistakenly categorized the manner of death as
“Accidental,” and he completely overlooked the actual cause of Linnea’s
death by drowning.

259. Prior to dying, Linnea survived her personal injuries proximately caused by
the negligence of Gull Dive, for a period of time, injuries that included, but
were not limited to, hypoxia, respiratory arrest, hypoxic convulsion, negativeComplaint
and Demand for Jury Trial 61
pressure pulmonary edema, accumulation of sphenoid sinus fluid, loss of
consciousness, cardiac arrest, severe bruising and squeeze of her torso and
neck, asphyxiation, severe emotional distress and mental anguish.

OK, but that's the plaintiffs alleging that was her manner of death. It's apparently not what the coroner found, and it may not be accurate. The complaint also describes her as having drowned. Given that people in this thread have experienced suit squeeze at 100 feet and not asphyxiated, I think it's premature to conclude she must have asphyxiated.

 

[boulderjohn]

Given that people in this thread have experienced suit squeeze at 100 feet and not asphyxiated,

For how long did they experience that squeeze? I reported only as far as 50 feet, and my body was covered with bruises.

Almost all diving fatality reports list drowning as the cause. As DAN regularly reports in its annual fatality issue, they never list what led to the drowning. If someone asphyxiates, they will first pass out. Then they will drown.

 

[rsingler]

As with most maloccurrences, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Inability to move, chest constriction, panic...once the reg was lost, the outcome was near-foreordained.
With the reg still in, I tend to believe this was potentially survivable, at least until the tank was empty, but I may be wrong.

 

[Esprise Me]

To clarify, my position is that it's premature to conclude she must have asphyxiated, not that she couldn't have asphyxiated. This is in response to Ayisha's post saying "she was asphyxiated, not drowned, right?" I'm just saying we don't know.

Granted, there's a lot we don't know; I've been taking the claims in the complaint as true for the most part, and they might not be. But some seem more likely than others.

The claims about the lack of a drysuit inflator hose, for example, are accompanied by a photo of a diver in a drysuit, and I can see for myself there's no hose attached. The instructor has sorta conceded that Bob was, in fact, taking pictures, in that social media post where she accused him of doing that instead of rescuing Linnea, so it's a stretch for me to believe that whole narrative with photos was faked.

But whether Linnea drowned or asphyxiated is something the plaintiffs could be mistaken about, without being dishonest. I'm actually not sure how we could ever be sure either way.

 

[Esprise Me]

For how long did they experience that squeeze? I reported only as far as 50 feet, and my body was covered with bruises.

Both @Wookie and @wetb4igetinthewater report having experienced squeeze at around 100 feet and lived to tell the tale:

You and I trained on rashguard and board shorts.

Imagine my first time in a drysuit, no training, laying on the bottom in 95 feet with my 'nards completely crushed by a drysuit squeeze unable to reach the inflator to add some air (and buoyancy, and 'nard relief). I didn't panic, and someone came along and blew about half their air laughing at my fat ass laying on the bottom unable to move before they added gas.

Drysuit squeeze is a real thing.

Have you actually descended to 100' without adding air to your drysuit?

Yes.

Why?

I stated earlier in this thread that I forgot to connect it, I was trying to catch up with others, and was having difficulty attaching it as I descended. I was annoyed with myself and kept going as I'm a stubborn SOB.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

For how long did they experience that squeeze? I reported only as far as 50 feet, and my body was covered with bruises..

I experienced it the entire dive. It kicked in at a fairly shallow depth. As it was a memorable experience I think my memory serves me right that the discomfort started at ten feet. It was quite painful at 100 feet and finning was hard. I'm pretty sure my pain tolerance and strength is higher than the victim. I was around 100 feet for probably ten minutes. My entire dive lasted about 40. Yes i had bruises but not on my neck.

 

[Wookie]

I do not recall having a hard time breathing, but I sure couldn’t move enough to reach my inflator. No bruises on my neck, but my arms, and torso were bruised in stripes where the trilam folds were, and less so on the legs and butt where the crushed neoprene is.

 

[Esprise Me]

There was a fairly famous death of a UK diver in the early 2000 where he died of a suit squeeze at something like 40 meters, cause of death was not drowning and he was found with a reg in mouth. You're basically vacuum sealed making it next to imposable to move.

Do you have any more info on this case? I'm trying to find it and not having much luck.