Age Discrimination
- Thread starter Aguablanco1
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I see both sides. I don't know if marketing to the US would expose the operator to US liability, and I know absolutely nothing about Carribbean law, but liability would always be an issue for any dive op. I do know a little something about US liability.
Reading the accident and incident forums and DandyDon's submissions, it seems that cardiac events are common in reported dive accidents. Thus the debate of Dive Accident or Medical Event. As a business owner, I would also be concerned about my staff who may have to deal with losing a customer who was on a family vacation. Their family watching first responders frantically trying to save the person would be awful, or even worse family members becoming second victims in the rescue/panic situation. The scenarios are endless, most ending badly. Most boats only have oxygen, automatic defibrillators are a long way off and CPR results are less than hopeful. The odds are definately against you if CPR is your only hope, even if you make it to the boat.
Un-extraordinary measures: Stats show CPR falls flat - CNN.com
My last class was a rescue diver course and if I remember correctly, I had to answer a medical questionnaire that any affirmative response required a doctors approval for the course. The truth is we are all dying, just some faster than others. At 70 the list of things that are statistically more likely to get you is much longer than a 30 year old triathlete. Strapping 50# of gear on, climbing dive boat ladders, and exposing your body to increased pressures could exacerbate any number of conditions.
Not discrimination, just medical cause for concern. My dad is 83 and will probably outlive me. I still would not want him running a 5k. Advanced age is just being treated as any other potentially non compatable medical condition like asthma, sinus issues, obesity, etc. the physical could likely find an issue that treatment will prolong your life...and allow you to keep diving longer.
Whether it is liability concerns, altruistic concern for the diver, other divers, and staff, legitimate medical concerns, or a combination of all of the above, I would not write off a dive operation that was the right fit for all my needs just because of a medical approval requirement.
I may feel differently when I'm 70!!!
Good luck, safe travels, and I hope you have a great vacation regardless of who you dive with.
Jay
Reading the accident and incident forums and DandyDon's submissions, it seems that cardiac events are common in reported dive accidents. Thus the debate of Dive Accident or Medical Event. As a business owner, I would also be concerned about my staff who may have to deal with losing a customer who was on a family vacation. Their family watching first responders frantically trying to save the person would be awful, or even worse family members becoming second victims in the rescue/panic situation. The scenarios are endless, most ending badly. Most boats only have oxygen, automatic defibrillators are a long way off and CPR results are less than hopeful. The odds are definately against you if CPR is your only hope, even if you make it to the boat.
Un-extraordinary measures: Stats show CPR falls flat - CNN.com
My last class was a rescue diver course and if I remember correctly, I had to answer a medical questionnaire that any affirmative response required a doctors approval for the course. The truth is we are all dying, just some faster than others. At 70 the list of things that are statistically more likely to get you is much longer than a 30 year old triathlete. Strapping 50# of gear on, climbing dive boat ladders, and exposing your body to increased pressures could exacerbate any number of conditions.
Not discrimination, just medical cause for concern. My dad is 83 and will probably outlive me. I still would not want him running a 5k. Advanced age is just being treated as any other potentially non compatable medical condition like asthma, sinus issues, obesity, etc. the physical could likely find an issue that treatment will prolong your life...and allow you to keep diving longer.
Whether it is liability concerns, altruistic concern for the diver, other divers, and staff, legitimate medical concerns, or a combination of all of the above, I would not write off a dive operation that was the right fit for all my needs just because of a medical approval requirement.
I may feel differently when I'm 70!!!
Good luck, safe travels, and I hope you have a great vacation regardless of who you dive with.
Jay
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Are they carding you or something?
I would be okay with it if they also required a medical release for everybody not on BMI. Obesity, which most people in this country are either obese or nearly so or well on their way to being so, is certainly more of an indicator of many health issues some of which can be acutely fatal if involved in a physical sport than age alone. I would say that being obese is more of a danger than simply being 70.
N
I would be okay with it if they also required a medical release for everybody not on BMI. Obesity, which most people in this country are either obese or nearly so or well on their way to being so, is certainly more of an indicator of many health issues some of which can be acutely fatal if involved in a physical sport than age alone. I would say that being obese is more of a danger than simply being 70.
N
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Land Fish
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I agree.
I don't think dive shops are the only ones who are being cautious these days. One of my colleagues enjoys endurance races, and he's in his early 40s. He's been active and working out all through his adult life, and he is as fit as it gets. But he has to be signed off by a physician almost every time he signs up for a race.
In the USA, it is entirely discriminatory. You cannot age discriminate. In Dominica, who knows? The cruise company could intervene but they're generally based in some offshore safe haven too. Good luck finding a lawyer to go after this...
Is that true? I know there are strict laws against age discrimination in employment/workplace, and there are also some laws against age discrimination in other contexts, such as federally funded education and other programs. But which federal anti-discrimination law prohibits a business discriminating against customers based on age? There may be some state laws.
JamesBon92007
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There was another recent thread on this subject. If I recall correctly it was also a cruise ship.
discrimination based solely on age
discrimination based solely on age
Already pointed out in post #2 above.
i hope that's toungue in cheek....
Fin Finder
Contributor
Yes sir, it was.
But it was also meant to imply that medical endorsements are only as a valid as the thoroughness of the person who signs them, in my opinion.
Although I hope from the stand point of the dive operators and instructors, medical waivers serve their legal purpose effectively.
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