Widow sues medical doctor and training company

[Basking Ridge Diver]

From the OP posting...

"The lawsuit says the instructors should have known Burns was at risk of severe injury or death if he continued diving after having an asthma attack; didn't safely monitor Burns' air supply and allowed him to consume air too quickly which created an out-of-air emergency; and didn't maintain control of Laharty's backup regulator and buoyancy compensatory device which allowed Burn's backup regulator to fall out of his mouth."

Not sure about where you got the no Octo's from?

 

[BRT]

Does anybody find it odd to be out of air shortly after reaching 60 feet? I have seen it happen twice shortly after reaching 100+ feet but 60?

 

[kelemvor]

From the OP posting...

"The lawsuit says the instructors should have known Burns was at risk of severe injury or death if he continued diving after having an asthma attack; didn't safely monitor Burns' air supply and allowed him to consume air too quickly which created an out-of-air emergency; and didn't maintain control of Laharty's backup regulator and buoyancy compensatory device which allowed Burn's backup regulator to fall out of his mouth."

Not sure about where you got the no Octo's from?

I assume no octos because why would OOA = emergency ascent from 60' for both an instructor and student? The student would be handed an octo or more likely the instructor would get mugged for his primary.

How long does it take to descend to 60' even for a new student? Even if the second stage was cut off the hose, would the tank empty out in that amount of time? It seems hard to imagine. I think the medical issues are a red herring based on the limited information that's been released so far.

 

[scagrotto]

The article pretty clearly says it was a mishandled OOA accident.

The article clearly says that Burns "indicated he was out of air"; there's nothing confirming that he actually was OOA. The article also says it was the doctor, not the dead dentist who did two uneventful dives, and that's clearly not an accurate description of events. It may be possible that a new, and apparently very unhealthy, diver to be OOA a few minutes after a descent to 60', but I'm inclined to think that Burns' health issues caused breathing difficulties that made him think that he wasn't getting (enough) air.

I'll also note, that although I'm not a doctor, I'm fairly confident that nobody dies of asthma. They die of drowning, suffocation, or perhaps even trauma, that results from the asthma. The autopsy may (as apparently happened in this case) note the contributory effect of the underlying illness, but the cause of death will be listed as the particular mechanism.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

I assume no octos because why would OOA = emergency ascent from 60' for both an instructor and student? The student would be handed an octo or more likely the instructor would get mugged for his primary.

How long does it take to descend to 60' even for a new student? Even if the second stage was cut off the hose, would the tank empty out in that amount of time? It seems hard to imagine. I think the medical issues are a red herring based on the limited information that's been released so far.

Pure speculation on my part and poor reporting on the article...
They got to 60 feet not sure if they were diving at some other depth before hitting 60 feet - the deceased had possibly run out of air but more likely had a medical emergency. The instructor realized he was out of it - put the reg in his mouth but the student was already unconscious or gone at that point. Reg does not stay and the instructor realizes - the crap has hit the fan - tries to get them both up - comes across as OOA emergency ascent...

That is how I read the article...

BTW 72 seconds from 3000psi to 0psi on a low pressure hose. I assume he had less but not sure why you are chasing that angle....

 

[kelemvor]

I guess I hadn't considered that. It's really too bad we often don't get all the details. I wonder if the tank(s) were found to be empty or not.

 

[Stoo]

.So your example, with asthma above it, should know and if he does not, yes, he is an idiot.

I didn't say he wasn't an idiot for diving, although I would have used a different word if I did. I was merely commenting on your classy comment. Much like the post suggesting the wife knocked him off.

.So your example, with asthma above it, should know and if he does not, yes, he is an idiot.

I won't argue that he wasn't an "idiot" if he was aware of the risk, and chose to ignore it, although I would have used a different word. My comment was aimed at your choosing to refer to the fairly recently deceased as such, in a public forum. It was much like someone else's post suggesting that this man's wife plotted this all out to effectively murder him so she could run off with a younger man.

I don't think such classless comments benefit the discussion about a serious topic. I'm funny that way.

 

[Freewillow]

got it Stoo. let's repace "idiot" by "stupid" then. FYI, if the couple knew nothing about diving, I doubd that the widow is reading this forum

 

[scubadada]

The wife and the husband both knew about the underlying medical conditions at the onset. The husband/dentist may not have been a medical doctor but was well educated and dealt with patients with medical problems all the time. The certifying physician may not have been in a strong position to make the decision.

I'm for personal responsibility, there's not always someone to blame. This is a great, litigious country

 

[tridacna]

This is a great, litigious country

Precisely. Which is why regulators, cars and toasters are safe and reliable.