Diver sues for being left behind

[ChrisM]

Agree on the skin cancer issue. Punitive damages seem to be one way to prevent this kind of thing from happening... and that means monetary awards.

Can't have it both ways. No general damages, can't just get punitive damages to "teach a lesson."

People have alluded to Dan's responsibility in this. From my understanding, he buddied up with two other buddies, faield to follow the rig diving rules, and became lost as a result of that

The DM screwed up the rest.

 

[scjoe]

The original information (which may have been wrong) was that the staff recorded the missing diver on board after both the first and second dives. If you are willing to let the staff rely on buddies reporting divers back on board (obviously a bad system), then you still have to ask why the staff got the count wrong twice. Did they show him going into the water on the second dive when he didn't? If not, why didn't they notice that the number of divers actually sitting out the second dive (assuming there was more than one), did not match their records? Did they let his so-called buddy report him on board after the second diver as well? All-in-all, it was a pretty sloppy operation that day and everyone involved is lucky they guy did not die.

 

[SkynSea]

Should he be able to sue- I think 'yes' should he sue? I think 'no'.

Does anyone really think the boat/shop/DM haven't changed or aren't paying more attention to head count now? This is about cashing in on a crappy mistake.

The important lesson we all should take away is how we treat the 'roll call'. Its sooo simple when the DM is conducting a count,
A) shut up-
B)stop moving around the boat
C)Don't answer for anyone else if you hear your name twice, clarify you are 'John Doe' and that you did or didn't answer previously

>>if you decide to go below and nap talk to the DM ahead of time, AND realize that you still might get rousted
>>if you are doing something outside of the normal dive plans, speak with the DM ahead of time. (long shallow dives/going back in to snorkel/ "check the anchor line" etc etc

Clearly whatever system was in place failed- no system will ever be foolproof (fools are too smart)

One of the easiest ways divers can avoid being left is to treat the roll call with respect, and understand- the best way to help out are the things above, NOT answering "Yeah, John Doe is back, he went below...." even if that is exactly what happened.