Probably too much to ask as time is valuable, but have you found any lawsuits outside of guiding? Anything other than teaching and/or try scuba?
I am not sure what you are asking. I would be happy to do a search on any term you are interested in.
If you complete divemaster training, and you have assets to lose, get the insurance, If someone is injured or killed in a diving accident, say, on a day boat, the first thing their family's lawyer is going to do is get a list of everyone on the boat and their certification levels. Then he's going to notice you've been trained to lead, supervise, and teach other divers, which means you've been taught how to spot behaviors that telegraph an accident waiting to happen and intervene. You're going to be named as a defendant, so get the insurance at least until it's been 5 years since you were certified or last used the rating professionally. PADI has annual updates for a reason, so after that amount of inactive time, you're less likely to be considered capable of having prevented the incident.
I carried the insurance for 5 years after I quit PADI.
I agree with the notion that if you have the cert to get the insurance. But...
...A search on the term "Divemaster", in the Nexus Uni law database, brought up 60 cases. I have read enough of each case to determine that none of them include any action that included a bystander or client of a dive op who is/was certified as a DM (or instructor, or assistant instructor).
One would think that if this happened that there would be a case on record, particularly an appellate case where the bystander/client who holds the pro level certification appeals the decision of the lower court.
I believe the concern that seems to be repeated on SB, and elsewhere, that a DM diving with dive op as a client could be pulled into a lawsuit for simply being present is possible but EXTREMELY unlikely. I think, without evidence to the contrary, that the notion is based on speculation and hyperbole. The cause of action would most likely be one of negligence, and unless the client with a pro-level certification injected themself into the scene as a pro, there would be no "duty of care" for them to "breach". Simply being present in this capacity does not create a duty of care.
I don't think it would take much for a pro-level diver to cross the line though. For instance, giving advice to other divers in the group, or taking any control of a diver or their equipment even in the slightest capacity could possibly be considered enough, but merely being present with a pro-level cert is not enough, in my opinion, for them to be liable for anything that happens to other divers outside their specific buddy pair/group....and their duty to their dive buddy if they are not diving with them in a pro-client capacity is debatable as well.
If there is an actual case that concerns this type of scenario, please let me know, I would like to read it.
-Z
