New York tourist dies in Cozumel

[Hatul]

According to a well placed member of the Cozumel Medical establishment, Mr. Fox was a ex pat who lived in the Corpus Christi area. According to the same source he had an existing heart condition and had been warned not to dive. The cause of death was heart attack, simple as that.


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

What evidence is there for heart attack being cause of death?

 

[Tigerman]

What evidence is there for heart attack being cause of death?

More than there is for CO poisoning I guess..

 

[Chris12day]

I do not disput that there have been some problems with carbon monoxide posioning in various places around the world. However, if you want to know what the composition of the gas you are breathing is, a pocket CO (carbon monoxide) measuring device is not good enough. You must utilize a much more sophisticated system such as Gas Chromotography that utilizes both internal and external standards.

If you suspect a problem, do not dive with that location until they prove the air they are supplying is clean via a recent certified report.

Safe Diving

 

[Mike]

According to a well placed member of the Cozumel Medical establishment, Mr. Fox was a ex pat who lived in the Corpus Christi area. According to the same source he had an existing heart condition and had been warned not to dive. The cause of death was heart attack, simple as that.


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

Simple as what?

Until the autopsy reveals it was a heart attack I can't see how anything is simple at this point.

The experts of the PGJE, proceeded to perform the removal of the body, as well as preliminary data, it is believed he died from asphyxia by drowning, but that is determined to have the results of the autopsy, his body was recognized by Gail Fox, who was his wife.

Is this the official results of the autopsy or is this some preliminary finding and the autopsy is yet to reveal the facts?

If this is the official results, then I'm disappointed and disgusted. Death by drowning? No sh*t, he was underwater.

I'd like to know for certain what exactly autopsys actually criteria are, do they do blood tests, do they check for CO poisoning?

The scuba industry would actually benefit from autopsys that were very thorough on every dive victim, since whenever someone dies diving there seems to always be this unknown factor involved which leaves the public and the dive community to make their own assumptions. Clear findings in autopsys would probably remove this by letting the chips fall where they may and actually reveal the deaths that were medical and those that were not, so that we could go - heart attack, heart attack, DCS, stroke, heart attack, OOA, CO poisoning, heart attack, stoke, stroke, heart attack....

 

[Jax]

Geez, Mike, chill . . . it's a preliminary report from a newspaper filtered through an Internet translator.

Yes, the scuba community would benefit from learning about autopsy . . . Now, have you done your part and informed your next-of-kin to release any diving related autopsy to the world?

 

[Hatul]

More than there is for CO poisoning I guess..

No one said CO poisoning was the cause of death.

 

[Mike]

What would I be 'chilling' over?

Sorry I haven't done my part, since I wasn't aware I needed to since medical examiners reports are public record in the United States, but I suppose I better start compiling the information for the other 195 countries to make sure I have my bases covered.

What's your point for attacking me for wondering about the complexity and completeness of a diving death autopsy? You own stock in them or something? What's your rational for wanting to squash information that would be valuable to the dive community?

 

[Tigerman]

Now if the diver was turning pinkish then youd have a strong indicator that he didnt have a heart attack...

 

[Jax]

What would I be 'chilling' over?

Sorry I haven't done my part, since I wasn't aware I needed to since medical examiners reports are public record in the United States, but I suppose I better start compiling the information for the other 195 countries to make sure I have my bases covered.

What's your point for attacking me for wondering about the complexity and completeness of a diving death autopsy? You own stock in them or something? What's your rational for wanting to squash information that would be valuable to the dive community?

Mike, it's just a newspaper report . . . it's no more accurate than what we get in the US. Cheezzz, you seem to be taking things personally.

 

[Karibelle]

One of the DAN physicians that spoke at DEMA made a great point. People keel over all the time. When someone drops dead during a tennis match, we don't call that a "tennis accident." When it happens when they're diving, we seem very intent it being a "diving accident."

If D. Dillehay's info is accurate, a person with a known condition and a recommendation from a physician NOT to dive, went diving and had a bad outcome. Quel surprise, as they say.