Diving-after-Dining...

This was reported by the BBC:


Wednesday, 8 June, 2005, 14:54 GMT 15:54 UK



"Instructor blamed for diver death


A Royal Navy petty officer caused the death of a junior officer by letting him dive on a full stomach in breach of safety rules, a court has heard.
Lieutenant Paul McAulay, 27, choked on his own vomit under water 20 minutes after eating his evening meal while on a Navy diving course.

His instructor Anthony Watt, 41, of Roundway, Waterlooville, Hants, denies manslaughter due to gross negligence.

Lt McAulay, of Clackmananshire, died at Horsea Lake, Portsmouth, in 2002.

Mr Watt also denies a health and safety charge of failing to take reasonable care of his student.

Heavy meal

Jonathan Fuller QC, prosecuting, told Winchester Crown Court that Mr Watt had failed to adhere to safety guidelines barring diving for two hours after a heavy meal.

Mr Watt also failed to have a person in diving kit ready to help Lt McAulay when it became apparent he was in trouble.

The delay of seven minutes while a diver was summoned from the shore made matters worse, jurors heard.

Lt McAulay, who was married, was the Navy's bobsleigh champion.

He was on day nine of a 20-day course on 28 November 2002, when he was called back to a classroom after dark, after eating a heavy meal.

Heart attack

The court heard that within as little as 10 to 15 minutes, the young officer was outside in the training lake, dressed in a dry suit, face mask and snorkel, trying to retrieve a marker at a depth of six metres.

Lt McAulay made two attempts from an inflatable boat to reach the marker by holding his breath, before making the fatal third attempt.

Mr Fuller said: "The consequence of his exertions was that he vomited. He inhaled the vomit into his windpipe and his upper airway and he struggled for breath."

Lt McAulay was unconscious in seconds, suffered a heart attack and sank to the bottom of the lake.

The trial is expected to last four weeks."


Anyone ever had serious gastronomical issues when diving on a full stomach? I know I've been down-right uncomfortable a few times, but never experienced the level of exertion this poor chap must have, which appears to have caused him to vomit.

Looks like it's a good idea to stay on surface after a heavy meal for a good while before taking the plunge...

D.S.D.

I thought this was something everyone knew. We were taught as kids that you couldn't go swimming for at least 45min/1hour after a meal.

The guy that made him do it is going to get hammered. If not by the civilian court (very unusual already for a military incident), then by the Navy.

DeepSeaDan:

The court heard that within as little as 10 to 15 minutes, the young officer was outside in the training lake, dressed in a dry suit, face mask and snorkel, trying to retrieve a marker at a depth of six metres.

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It sounds like he was free-diving. It might have saved his life had he been on scuba instead.

Kim:

I thought this was something everyone knew. We were taught as kids that you couldn't go swimming for at least 45min/1hour after a meal.

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"Everyone" knows wrong -- there is neither medical nor statistical evidence supporting this. It's a scam perpetrated by parents to get a nap without having to serve as lifeguards.

Having said that, whether it's common knowledge is as irrelevant in this matter as whether it's true or not; this will be a matter of having a death occur related to a violation of an SOP.

lairdb:

Having said that, whether it's common knowledge is as irrelevant in this matter as whether it's true or not; this will be a matter of having a death occur related to a violation of an SOP.

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Not in a civilian court in the UK it won't. A SOP charge would be a simple Navy affair. This is a health and safety issue therefore if the defense can prove what you first said - i.e. it's an old wives tale - then he'll get off. On the other hand someone died after swimming/diving shortly after a large meal. That doesn't really fit with your claim that it has never happened. In any case it will revolve around that fact of whether it is actually dangerous or not.

Well, I don't know about the legalities of all this, but I do know that a case of heartburn can really spoil a dive.

Therefore, I try to keep it light before diving.

Also, all this was supposed to have taken place 28 November 2002 and the case would take four weeks. Well, it's now June 2005. What's up with that??

Maybe a mod should merge this thread with the one on Accidents and Incidents.

Maybe a merge is not needed, I think the thrust of this thread is different from the other..whether it is dangerous to dive after eating, while the other seems to be discussing the event in general..

Like Kim, when I was young, it was common knowledge not to swim after eating. However, later in life when worknig in the medical field, I was also told that the act of swimming in itself had no particular danger after eating.

Now, I think it is possible that heavy physical exercise could be difficult after eating, and if the swimming where combined with heavy exertion, then a problem could arise...?

My point is quite simple. No-one is prosecuted in a British court simply for breaking a military regulation - they have to be breaking the law. In this case it revolves around negligence and health and safety issues. In other words did the man make someone else do something that was known to be dangerous? Obviously whether or not it was a dangerous thing to do is the crux here - if it wasn't dangerous then there can be no case - if it is, then he bears responsibility. The part about the negligence probably stems from the fact that there was no safety diver standing by ready to go if something happened.

Kim:

Not in a civilian court in the UK it won't. A SOP charge would be a simple Navy affair. This is a health and safety issue therefore if the defense can prove what you first said - i.e. it's an old wives tale - then he'll get off.

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Huh -- I missed that it was in a non-military court; I read it as a court martial. If it's civilian, than the facts might have some bearing (though a "reasonable man" prosecution would likely ask where the overwhelming evidence was that cause him to reasonably place his own judgement ahead of the SOP.)

Kim:

On the other hand someone died after swimming/diving shortly after a large meal. That doesn't really fit with your claim that it has never happened. In any case it will revolve around that fact of whether it is actually dangerous or not.

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Non sequitur; argument to a different point. I didn't claim that no-one has ever drowned after eating; I claimed there was no evidence supporting a causative relationship.

People have drowned shortly after reciting poetry, too -- doesn't mean that reciting poetry is a significant risk factor in drowning.