Warning about medical conditions

[redacted]

I am not encouraging anyone to lie on the medical releases. Lying on the medical forms is not only doing the diver a disservice, but it is completely unethical and unfair to the operator taking them out. IMO, lying about your medical condition when it comes to SCUBA diving is just plain stupid and gives one a nomination for the Darwin awards. There are REASONS certain conditions are contradictory to diving.

I'm sure you don't intend to encourage concealing a medical condition, but waiting until divers are on location to discover that a Dr's release is going to be required may be doing just that. For example, my wife has recently had surgery. Prior to the surgery she discussed with the Dr the effect on her diving. His response was that once stitches are gone and wounds are healed, there would be no medical containdication to her diving. However, the limiting factor on her activities would be her ability to handle gear out of the water. Seems to me that the surest way to handle this in a last minute fashion may be to simply answer NO. However, if such matters were to be taken care of at the time of application and deposit, there should be no reason the operator could not be fully informed about such matters.

I would have never thought that I might need a written Dr's release to dive 18 months and 67 dives after my gall bladder surgery.

 

[Rick Inman]

It's not good. (And no I don't lie, I don't have anything to say yes to.) But a problem with medical forms is that not all operators are in the same place with what is ok and what is not and how they handle it. Someone could say they have "condition x" and have no issue some places, but then find themselves surprised someplace when somebody says they can't dive, possibly even with a release. Sometimes it's because medical opinions have changed over the years, some things that used to be considered contradictions no longer are but there will be some operators stuck on the ideas from 10 years ago. For medical as well as other things in diving, sometimes ops have perfectly sensible rules and sometimes they don't. Not knowing for sure when someone will say no even though you know it's fine and the doctor says it's fine, is going to cause some people to lie.

Actually, those with conditions that are questionable know it. It would be foolish to spend a bunch of time and money to go to some great diving destination with a medical issue and not bring a medical release. If the doctor says it's fine to dive, don't be foolish. Bring the release. Simple.

 

[Christi]

I'm sure you don't intend to encourage concealing a medical condition, but waiting until divers are on location to discover that a Dr's release is going to be required may be doing just that. For example, my wife has recently had surgery. Prior to the surgery she discussed with the Dr the effect on her diving. His response was that once stitches are gone and wounds are healed, there would be no medical containdication to her diving. However, the limiting factor on her activities would be her ability to handle gear out of the water. Seems to me that the surest way to handle this in a last minute fashion may be to simply answer NO. However, if such matters were to be taken care of at the time of application and deposit, there should be no reason the operator could not be fully informed about such matters.

I would have never thought that I might need a written Dr's release to dive 18 months and 67 dives after my gall bladder surgery.

Big difference in 18 months and less than 3 months. I would not have required a Dr.'s release for you.

As Rick says, if you have a medical condiion that is questionable, why would you NOT want to check with your Dr. to make sure you are ok to dive and why would you plan an expensive vacation centered around diving if you didn't know you were ok to dive? If he says ok, GREAT...have him put it in writing, then you're covered. I offered to accept the Dr's release by fax or e-mail...but she didn't want to call the Dr.

However, due to this, I have already decided to add ANOTHER standard line to the e-mail I send out containing payment options and policies that basically says you need a Dr.'s release if you have such and such conditions.

The thing to remember here, is that as a certified diver, it is your responsibility to make sure you are physically fit to dive. As I said before, major surgery within 6 months is a no brainer and SHOULD be common sense...but apparently not.

Mark...I will order some of the new forms. I keep the Safe Diver Statement Handy for eveyone to read and it's posted on the boat as well.

 

[redacted]

Big difference in 18 months and less than 3 months. I would not have required a Dr.'s release for you.

As Rick says, if you have a medical condiion that is questionable, why would you NOT want to check with your Dr. to make sure you are ok to dive and why would you plan an expensive vacation centered around diving if you didn't know you were ok to dive? If he says ok, GREAT...have him put it in writing, then you're covered. I offered to accept the Dr's release by fax or e-mail...but she didn't want to call the Dr.

However, due to this, I have already decided to add ANOTHER standard line to the e-mail I send out containing payment options and policies that basically says you need a Dr.'s release if you have such and such conditions.

The thing to remember here, is that as a certified diver, it is your responsibility to make sure you are physically fit to dive. As I said before, major surgery within 6 months is a no brainer and SHOULD be common sense...but apparently not.

Mark...I will order some of the new forms. I keep the Safe Diver Statement Handy for eveyone to read and it's posted on the boat as well.

I think the way you handled that situation was as good as could be done given the situation. But I really like your idea of dealing with this in early emails. This should avoid possible losses for all involved, provide the necessary liability protection for the operator, and safety for the diver and the DM/crew.