General Sherman Wreck fatality - South Carolina

[TSandM]

Actually (although it's too late tonight for me to look up the numbers) field CPR often has better results than in-hospital CPR, simply because someone in the field hasn't already had a whole bunch of advanced interventions to keep them from coding. The guy in the hospital who codes may already be on a vent and a bunch of drips . . .

I'm also not aware of any statistics that say CPR has better results when O2 is available. Many, if not most events in the field that lead to CPR are primarily cardiac, in which case O2 may make little difference. One of the few times when it might make a big difference is where the primary cause of arrest is hypoxia, which may well be the case with a diving accident. O2 should be available on commercial dive boats -- it should be full, the crew should know how to use it, and the masks or other methods of provision should be in good order.

 

[Fish-R-Man]

I am not sure if the rules apply to commercial dive boats, but I believe that they do. I have been engineering commercial fishing vessels since the early 70's. Every one that I have been on from my brothers 32' trap boat to 340' factory trawlers all have to pass an annual USCG safety inspection. Depending on vessel length and crew size the regulations very, but they cover the same basic safety items on all of them. Lights, alarms, radios, fire supression, flotation devices, etc. I would be very surprised that this specific type of vessel would be exempt. They have to have a captain with at least a 6-pac license so they must have some kind of inspection. On here, medicinal O2 and even eye wash experation dates are inspected....

 

[Mike]

Does a leaking oxygen bottle really necessitate a toss over board? Seriously?

F- no.

What the hell do people think is coming out of it when you're applying it in first aid, jelly beans?

 

[tempoffroad]

I personally think that any charter boat for divers should carry oxygen and a defibrillator that has yearly inspections.

 

[DandyDon]

Boat passengers get letters from attorney on scuba diving death

www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=782273#.UBdEn6NdBts

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. - A lawyer with Prenner and Marvel, representing Coastal Scuba, sent letters to three people asking them to use caution when speaking to the media. This comes on the heels of one of them sitting down with NewsChannel 15 and talking about the death of a woman who died while diving with the company last Tuesday.
The letter says "should any investigation determine that the vessel's equipment was in proper working condition and/or that any deficiency was the result of operator error, any public comments to the contrary would be defamatory and Coastal Scuba will pursue all available remedies."
David Marvel wrote the letter and says he sent it because he wanted to talk to them about what happened that day.
But a master diver who was also on the boat did not receive that letter. Kevin Kirk says as a professional diver, he was obligated to file a report with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) about the events surrounding the death of Karen Murphy. He's also shared what he says happened that day with a Coast Guard investigator.
After diving and taking pictures of his expedition, Kirk says when he came back up to the surface, he realized something was going on. "They had Mrs. Murphy on the back deck of the bow. The dive master was performing CPR, there was another nurse that was there beside her."
Kirk says he also helped with CPR because there was no emergency oxygen available.
"I was just extremely surprised that there was not a working O2 on the vessel," he says. "We've been taught in training that O2 can be a big benefit. Would it have been a benefit in that situation? I cannot say whatsoever."
Kirk adds he's concerned he may get a letter as well for speaking to NewsChannel 15 about the incident but said, "I just feel like there are some concerns, and I don't think we can say exactly because we don't know the cause of death or what actually happened to Mrs. Murphy, but there were enough concerns that I felt like they needed to be spoken of."
Even before the death of Karen Murphy, Kirk says he had planned to file a quality assurance complaint with PADI because of events leading up to the outing. "One thing I mentioned to my wife was the lack of a safety during the dive briefing, as far as where the O2 was located, an all recall if there was an emergency on the boat. So there were just a few things just like that. I told my wife I was probably going to file a complaint because of all the operators we've ever dove with, we really did not like how things were going on this one."
A Coast Guard investigator says they have taken witness statements, and they have all Murphy's equipment. It could be several more weeks before we learn Murphy's cause of death.
A memorial service for Murphy will be held at the Autenrith Funeral Home, Newport, NY on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.

 

[Shot a man in Reno...]

Coastal Scuba is not looking good in this whole episode. Now they are trying to get people to stop talking.

I am glad that we have had information from people that were involved in the attempts to revive, including the problems that they encountered due to Coastal Scuba's lack of preparation. Usually all that you get are 3rd hand rumors and speculation.

 

[nimoh]

Well, if I were on that boat, I would stop talking. If a court decides that Coastal Scuba is not at fault, then me blaming them could be viewed as slander or libel.

It is sad, that the truth is sort of irrelevant where the courts are involved.

 

[tracydr]

Actually (although it's too late tonight for me to look up the numbers) field CPR often has better results than in-hospital CPR, simply because someone in the field hasn't already had a whole bunch of advanced interventions to keep them from coding. The guy in the hospital who codes may already be on a vent and a bunch of drips . . .

I'm also not aware of any statistics that say CPR has better results when O2 is available. Many, if not most events in the field that lead to CPR are primarily cardiac, in which case O2 may make little difference. One of the few times when it might make a big difference is where the primary cause of arrest is hypoxia, which may well be the case with a diving accident. O2 should be available on commercial dive boats -- it should be full, the crew should know how to use it, and the masks or other methods of provision should be in good order.

Also, most DAN kits have no way to provide pressurized O2. No bag,valve mask. So, if the patient isn't making effort to breathe, it may not be a very useful option?
The only out of hospital drowning victim that I've attended to, I needed to provide a bag/valve mask and when I arrived at scene, the basic EMTs ( not paramedics) were attempting to use a nasal cannula on the victim, who was not breathing and had a very low pulse. Not very useful.

 

[Hawkwood]

Also, most DAN kits have no way to provide pressurized O2. No bag,valve mask. So, if the patient isn't making effort to breathe, it may not be a very useful option?....

tracydr,

I will let my ignorance show, I am not sure I understand. All DAN kits are sold with: a demand valve and mask; oronasal resuscitation mask; and, non-rebreather mask.

Are you saying that for a non-breathing patient, the provided oronasal resuscitation mask with supplemental O2 is not useful?

DAN can also provide a manually-operated demand valve.

 

[nimoh]

F- no.

What the hell do people think is coming out of it when you're applying it in first aid, jelly beans?

of course oxygen is coming out when applying during first aid, but uncontrolled, it is very dangerous

O2 CYLINDER EXPLOSION - YouTube