Will your buddy/"instant buddy" sue you if something happens or vice-versa?

[diver 85]

You're right, of course. I'm not saying I agree with any of this, just telling you what MIGHT happen.

I once refused to buddy with a newbie in Coz when I first started diving, I had 35 dives, the newbie was on his first OW dives since cert and had NO athlectic abilities at all. I said to the DM, I can not be responsible for him since I'm kind of new myself. He insisted I buddy with him, which I did, thinking the DM was law on the boat, I was new. He was awful and cut my dive short. I had to surface with him. I suffered the next dive with him but that was it. Next day I buddied with 3 other guys who told me at dinner, that guy is going to kill you.

Those would have been free dives to me...I would have NOT paid for them...zero....& as far as tipping the DM, I would have said 'I'll give you a tip, it might rain tonight or tomorrow'.......

 

[pilot fish]

Those would have been free dives to me...I would have NOT paid for them...zero....& as far as tipping the DM, I would have said 'I'll give you a tip, it might rain tonight or tomorrow'.......

Yeah, I wound up baby sitting this poor guy. At one point his mask was inches from mine, I thought, is this guy gonna kiss me or grab my reg?

 

[pilot fish]

NWG is correct. If you were hiding your actual certification level, by showing a lower one, it would be a lot worse for you. I think the guy I met in Saba that did it, just didn't want people asking him to buudy so they would be safer. Still, if it had gone badly, and someone got hurt, he's have been in deep stuff, if he had buddied with the injured party.



QUOTE=NWGratefulDiver]Not really ... any reasonably competent lawyer can find out your credentials in short order (it's on record with your certifying agency, after all).

Showing a lower rating may save you from the dive crew who thinks it'd be a neat idea to buddy up the newest diver on the boat with a dive professional ... but it won't mean squat if someone gets hurt and decides to see how many people on the boat are worth suing ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)[/QUOTE]

 

[scarefaceDM]

Signing a waiver of sorts does not cut it in a court room...your gonna get sued regardless if it is a friend or even a instabuddy...will they win...probably not. But if negligence on your part was the cause of an incident..then chances are you will have more trouble than you everwanted. Having said that.

Signing waivers on a charter boat is to create a paper trail. If your on a charter and something goes wrong...they want to see the boat manifest, list of divers and waivers. It becomes a leagl issue, and any sueing party can use that against you or dive op in the event of legal action.

From what I was told by a lawyer friend is to never hide your identity. Especially as a PRO. Even if your not working the Dive operation or charter. It is in your best interest to be truthfull.

 

[SteveAD]

Not really ... any reasonably competent lawyer can find out your credentials in short order (it's on record with your certifying agency, after all).

Showing a lower rating may save you from the dive crew who thinks it'd be a neat idea to buddy up the newest diver on the boat with a dive professional ... but it won't mean squat if someone gets hurt and decides to see how many people on the boat are worth suing ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Exactly right!

I have done this on occasion to protect me from questions and requests when I am not working, but NOT with any intention or belief that it would protect me from any liability should the feces hit the fan. When I'm not working, I DON'T want to be buddied with anyone who might ruin my dive. When I am working, it's not MY dive, it's the students dive. But under any circumstance, if I see a person in iminent danger, I will render whatever aid I can.

 

[ArcticDiver]

Actually a bigger risk than the buddy suing is the buddy's insurance company or heirs.

Personally I wouldn't dream of suing someone who was only being my buddy; regardless of the outcome. But, that may not be my decision; just like it might not be yours.

If the buddy is injured and requires medical care covered by insurance the carrier will in many cases sue to recover costs of that care. The suit may be in the buddy's name; but the actual party will be the insurance company. The attorney's on the board can comment on the mechanics involved. Suffice it for this post to say I've been on both sides of this in non-dive related situations.

 

[H2Andy]

I have done this on occasion to protect me from questions and requests when I am not working, but NOT with any intention or belief that it would protect me from any liability should the feces hit the fan.

Bob is right, but your chances of not being found out are actually pretty good

typically, the names of all aboard the boat will be known to the lawyer pretty quickly.

they will then interview and/or depose the "major players" (captain, crew, buddies, actual witnesses).

if you are none of the above, or if none of the above know your true rating, you will probably not get on the lawyer's radar screen.

if the lawyer is really, really detail-oriented, he may do a background check on everybody on the boat ... but ... those can get expensive, so ... probably won't happen

 

[pilot fish]

In a dep the first question, after your name, address, blab balh blab, is: are you a certified scuba diver and what was your rating at the time the deceased gave you the signal he was out of air ?

Bob is right, but your chances of not being found out are actually pretty good

typically, the names of all aboard the boat will be known to the lawyer pretty quickly.

they will then interview and/or depose the "major players" (captain, crew, buddies, actual witnesses).

if you are none of the above, or if none of the above know your true rating, you will probably not get on the lawyer's radar screen.

if the lawyer is really, really detail-oriented, he may do a background check on everybody on the boat ... but ... those can get expensive, so ... probably won't happen

 

[Rpeiffer]

Actually a bigger risk than the buddy suing is the buddy's insurance company or heirs.

For the insurance co to seek recovery they would have to have "rights of subrogation" and I've only ever heard of that with property insurance not health or life insurance.

Suffice it for this post to say I've been on both sides of this in non-dive related situations.

So your saying you were involved in a situation where you were being sued for costs incurred by a health or life insurance co? I'd be interested in the details.

 

[H2Andy]

In a dep the first question, after your name, address, blab balh blab, is: are you a certified scuba diver and what was your rating at the time the deceased gave you the signal he was out of air ?

correct

which is why the likelihood of you being deposed is what counts

if you are not a major player and if none of the major players talk about you during their depo, your likelihood of being deposed is low, hence you will likely escape notice