Sunrise Scuba, Spring Hill FL lawsuit

[Reef]

Bill I'm digging the pics of the new Ferrari your going to buy Bro. This new get rich scheme of filling your tanks with oil, and then possibly killing yourself is genius.

Dave do you mind passing the popcorn.

 

[rockjock3]

You do realize that you'll need an impartial 3rd party to VIP your tanks for compressor oil as you have a vested interest.

I would also imagine it would be difficult to prove that the LDS compressor is to only possible source of contamination.

Agreed on the 3rd party.

As for difficult to prove. Not at all if he finds several people with tanks that are contaminated and the only thing in common is where the people got their tanks filled.

 

[rockjock3]

I concur. We (as a society) have tolerated far too many frivolous lawsuits that are contaminating our moral compass and doing nothing more than fueling one's greed. Everyone involved, directly or indirectly, in one of these circus events contributes to their proliferation. It may be summed up best by Don Henley's song "Dirty Laundry."

Yes... you can try to contact other divers. But if this particular unnamed shop has recently stopped "pumping nitrox" as you say, then why don't you consider that a step in the right direction instead of dragging any I-want-to-get-rich schmuck in on your immoral delusion? The diving industry as a whole has enough troubles without the likes of you tainting its reputation by blatantly (and publicly) proclaiming a fault and demanding retribution for an act that is most likely an honest mistake.

You would probably do good to dispense with the thought that it was intentional, but given our nature, arrogance will trump all logical arguments. My logical argument is as follows: If it is true that nitrox is no longer being dispensed at this shop, it would seem that the person in question was either informed of or discovered said problem, and subsequently ceased using the defective equipment to protect the diving community. And if said shop/person is morally conscious, I suspect that your concerns would be addressed and satisfied to the best of their ability, without the need for public litigation.

I feel compelled to offer one of my favorite aphorisms... "Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate."



Ken

I didn't hear him say that he wants to sue the shop for everything he can get. I am, however, disturbed how some of you are blowing this off as "maybe it wasn't intentional".

He, said there might be a suit. He also is trying to both advise other people that have gotten fills there to both see if it is a problem with the shop and so that they don't find out they have bad air until it is too late.

As far as it being a possible accident (I am pretty sure that and dive shop wouldn't do it on purpose) then a possible lawsuit will allow them to prove that. If they have proper documentation for air quality and the equipment is maintained they are fine. If there was a unknown failure in the equipment (even though properly maintained), then fine, they again will be off the hook. If, however, they don't have any maintance records or air quality results then they are negligent and I hope that any possible lawsuit would be successful and put the store out of business and hold the owners fully accountable.

 

[deepstops]

Scuba air quality in the state of Florida is required to be CGA Grade E (or better) and required to be tested quarterly by LAW as per Florida Statute 381.895.

I know of only two fill stations here Fort Lauderdale that comply
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/community/compressed-air/index.html

Walk into most shops with a copy of this and you'll get the "deer in the headlights" response far more times than not.

 

[I Dive]

Bill I'm digging the pics of the new Ferrari your going to buy Bro. This new get rich scheme of filling your tanks with oil, and then possibly killing yourself is genius.

Dave do you mind passing the popcorn.

Sorry, man, you'll need to handle the popcorn. I'm too busy trying to figure out how I can get in on this cash cow lawsuit. I've got my eye on the Grady White Gulf Stream 232 and they aren't cheap. I'd much rather pay for it through a lawsuit judgement than to earn the money through any ridicilous concepts like working, saving, or investing. Salmonboy, didn't I borrow a tank from you once? Even if I didn't, can you say I did?

 

[SubMariner]

Wow. Did you read the thread? He stated that he has tried on several occasions to contact the shop to no avail. He also stated that he had the tanks serviced and filled at that shop because it was the one in his area. He had to take them to another shop in another county to repair the damage that was done. Now I tend to agree with you that we live in a sue-happy country but I think you should have the facts before you decide to blow your top because you have high liability insurance. Guess what.... so do I. I don't like it either but that my friend is life.

Yes, we have one person with direct testimony of his equipment being damaged and one person who says that he used to work for a business that has taken in damaged tanks that people TELL him were serviced at the shop in question. So that is one person with 1st hand knowledge and one person submitting hearsay. (No offense to the latter person, that’s just the way the information has been presented.)

Meanwhile, if I read your badge correctly, you are a Divemaster. Your insurance requirements are minimal compared to Instructors or dive shop o/o's in this country. In fact, unless you are teaching/guiding on your own, you don't even NEED your own liability insurance. Thus, since you are not shelling out the kind of money we are (about $515 per person since we are both Instructors), you have no idea about what it costs to teach scuba diving in this country.

FYI, the same policy in Canada would cost us about $315 CDN p/p. AAMOF, when we left Canada we were paying a combined premium of ~$400 CDN. Our first year in the US that was almost what it cost EACH of us for liability insurance. Is scuba less DANGEROUS in Canada than the US? No. Are there more competent Instructors there than in the US? No. Are there less people SUING each other in Canada than the US? YES! Hence the higher premiums in the US.

As far as I am concerned he has done his due diligance in this matter. I have seen the evidence and so have others. I think it is safe to say that having to pay to repair and clean everything is getting off easy compared to the possible loss of life or sickness he could have faced. In a perfect world the owner of the shop would man up and take care of the issue and this thread wouldn't even be on here but he chose to go another route.

The thread starter has stated that “I heard tonight that the doors to Sunrise Scuba are closed for good”. So far his only method of trying to contact the owner of the business has been by telephone. That's hardly exhausting all methods of contact or doing your due diligence [sic] before publically declaring your intention to sue someone.

Now you tell me...how would you proceed? Do you just let the guy off the hook so he can open another shop and do it again to someone else? How would you feel if you did let it go and he opened up only to kill someone? Don't you think that would be partially on your head? I would feel horrible knowing I could have done something to stop it and didn't. But thats just the way I am.
I have to tell you I don't think salmonboy is after a large sum of money. I believe that purpose is to recover the damages and costs as well as raise awareness of the situation and the poor job done by the shop and that is worth it in my book. Not everyone is out to grab money. Maybe you should meet the people before you make statements that belittle their cause.

How has this gone from one person’s problems with a small business to a danger to the entire diving community? If that’s the case, maybe we should be putting this up on America’s Most Wanted rather than asking people to participate in a lawsuit.

Does Salmonboy97 deserve to be reimbursed for the damage to his equipment? Yes. But talking about lawsuits at this stage is premature.

 

[I Dive]

Yes, we have one person with direct testimony of his equipment being damaged and one person who says that he used to work for a business that has taken in damaged tanks that people TELL him were serviced at the shop in question. So that is one person with 1st hand knowledge and one person submitting hearsay. (No offense to the latter person, that’s just the way the information has been presented.)

Meanwhile, if I read your badge correctly, you are a Divemaster. Your insurance requirements are minimal compared to Instructors or dive shop o/o's in this country. In fact, unless you are teaching/guiding on your own, you don't even NEED your own liability insurance. Thus, since you are not shelling out the kind of money we are (about $515 per person since we are both Instructors), you have no idea about what it costs to teach scuba diving in this country.

FYI, the same policy in Canada would cost us about $315 CDN p/p. AAMOF, when we left Canada we were paying a combined premium of ~$400 CDN. Our first year in the US that was almost what it cost EACH of us for liability insurance. Is scuba less DANGEROUS in Canada than the US? No. Are there more competent Instructors there than in the US? No. Are there less people SUING each other in Canada than the US? YES! Hence the higher premiums in the US.



The thread starter has stated that “I heard tonight that the doors to Sunrise Scuba are closed for good”. So far his only method of trying to contact the owner of the business has been by telephone. That's hardly exhausting all methods of contact or doing your due diligence [sic] before publically declaring your intention to sue someone.



How has this gone from one person’s problems with a small business to a danger to the entire diving community? If that’s the case, maybe we should be putting this up on America’s Most Wanted rather than asking people to participate in a lawsuit.

Does Salmonboy97 deserve to be reimbursed for the damage to his equipment? Yes. But talking about lawsuits at this stage is premature.

You whine like a person who is nearly being bankrupted by your Professional Liablity Insurance Premium and yet it breaks down to the equivalent of about $43 per month. Most people pay more than that for television service. Get over it or find a new occupation. In the mean time, since you are so much more enlightened than the rest of us, please grace us with your brilliance. What should Salmonboy's next step be?

 

[K Mejean]

Meanwhile, if I read your badge correctly, you are a Divemaster. Your insurance requirements are minimal compared to Instructors or dive shop o/o's in this country. In fact, unless you are teaching/guiding on your own, you don't even NEED your own liability insurance. Thus, since you are not shelling out the kind of money we are (about $515 per person since we are both Instructors), you have no idea about what it costs to teach scuba diving in this country.

Well just so you know. I do know how much instructor insurance is. I also carry my own insurance. I work independantly as a contractor for 4 different businesses. So now that you actually know a little bit of background on me you can continue to make comments about my knowledge of the industry. This time though you might not be as wrong because you will actually know something rather than make comments without any knowledge and make yourself look like a dumb ass. If you are not happy with the cost of things here my only recommendation would be to quit working in the industy or go back to Canada.

The thread starter has stated that “I heard tonight that the doors to Sunrise Scuba are closed for good”. So far his only method of trying to contact the owner of the business has been by telephone. That's hardly exhausting all methods of contact or doing your due diligence [sic] before publically declaring your intention to sue someone

I believe his first post said possible law suit. The fact that he is looking for others that have the same issue and is stating where he intends to head DOES NOT make him irresponsible or a "get rich quick" sue happy person. You, like others, have taken a few posts by the starter of this thread and made judgments about his character and his claims without any more info than what is on here. Therefore I think you are not only speaking out of term but you also owe him an appology for your attempt to do harm to his character.

How has this gone from one person’s problems with a small business to a danger to the entire diving community? If that’s the case, maybe we should be putting this up on America’s Most Wanted rather than asking people to participate in a lawsuit.

Seriously? You don't think that a shop doing fills that are not up to standards is just one persons problem? Come on man. You have to be smarter than that. Just because it has not personally affected you does not make it a non issue. Scuba Board happens to be one of the largest scuba community sites around so many different people from many different areas come on here for info while planning trips to the area. This could easily have become a problem for people all over the country. Now if it has or not I don't know. But a little knowledge goes a long way. Whether you like it or not the information passed on in this thread has probably saved someone a lot of money and possible injury.
As far as your Americas Most Wanted comment. That is just an attempt by you to take this to the extreme to try to prove a point. There is a very big difference in civil and criminal. That is yet another thing you should also know before making comments.

Does Salmonboy97 deserve to be reimbursed for the damage to his equipment? Yes. But talking about lawsuits at this stage is premature.

On this point we almost agree. I also think he should be reimbursed for the damage to his equipment. Where we differ here is that I realize that in todays society a persons options have become very limited. So you either go by way of the law and look at the possibility of sueing to retrieve your money or you try to do it without the law which will probably get someone in serious trouble. Just ask OJ Simpson about taking the law into your own hands. I think he now gets the joy of spending the rest of his life in prison for going after things that belonged to him.

 

[Scott L]

Brother I think you'll just be banging your head against a brick wall. fwiw, I'd eat it and move forward. Less stress on you. Now if he decides to come back to town and open up business again...:guillotine:

The dive shop owner most likely would have had a commerial general liability policy in place at the request of the landlord for premise liabilty reasons. If the dive shop owner is difficult to locate attempt to acquire the policy information from the property owner/property manager who in this case with the shop having likely missed rent payments would likely oblige. I doubt this issue will result in a class action suit or ultimately involve an attorney but you could be successful dealing directly with the insurance carrier.

 

[Salmonboy97]

Here I thought the whole idea of a suit was to have a judge look at the evidence and apply the law to both parties.
If the dive shop owner would pay for my damages, I wouldnt have anything to dispute, and nothing for a judge to decide.
Furthermore, if the dive shop owner, (who knows me and has my phone number) had called ME when he realized he had a compressor problem, and was pumping oil and water into scuba cylinders, the situation would be much different. Instead he waited for me to find out I had a problem and come after him!