Family sues resort over son who died diving in The Crater

[Clanggedin]

I know this article is about a free diver, but the guy who loaned him the mask was a PADI instructor with his class. The man who rescued him was also a PADI instructor with his AOW class. The family is suing both of them as well as the Crater.

Family sues resort over son who died diving in The Crater - ksl.com

MIDWAY -- The family of a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate is suing a Utah resort over the man's 2010 death in a swimming hole owned by the resort.

The family of Patrick Vandam, 26, originally of Minnesota, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against The Homestead, Inc. and The Homestead Crater, Inc. in U.S. District Court in connection with the man's death.....

 

[CT Sean]

Very unfortunate for the man and his family but the lawsuit itself, depending on what facts are not being reported, sounds a bit like nonsense

Unless freediving is expressly prohibited, I fail to see why they should have prevented him from swimming in the swimming hole that is open to the public for swimming. It even says right on the Crater website "You can go swimming, scuba diving, snorkeling" It doesn't say anything about these activities only being allowed if you aren't going to die while engaging in them

The man was apparently well known as a contender in the competitive eating world.

That's an interesting tidbit to include. I wonder if they are trying to say the guy was "of a larger stature" and someone should have taken it upon themselves to tell him he's in no shape to be swimming.

 

[Scared Silly]

I read this story this morning:

Family sues Utah resort over diver

Interestingly the family is only asking for $75K.

 

[CT Sean]

Perhaps they are hoping the resort sees it as not enough to fight over and just settles. - not that it makes it right

 

[2 Big 2 Fail]

As Paul Harvey used to say, "Here's the rest of the story."

Competitive Eating News



AND - If their allegation below is true that the resort has a statutory duty to provide a lifeguard, the relatively modest amount they are suing for probably means it will be settled by the insurers. Many competitive eaters are no more than average normal size. This guy was 6'00" 165 pounds in the Academy and was a competitive swimmer and diver there and in high school.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/5...p?+news,+crime,+justice,+news,+crime,+justice

 

[Clanggedin]

The viz in the crater is rarely better than 4'. A lifeguard would not have been sufficient. He needed a support team or a safety vest like many free divers wear.

I am not sure I would classify the Crater as a 'pool' either. I also recall signing waivers before I was allowed to dive there.

 

[Scared Silly]

Perhaps they are hoping the resort sees it as not enough to fight over and just settles. - not that it makes it right

That is my guess as well. As it sounds as though the family is just trying to recover medical, funeral expenses, and attorney fees. $75K is not much and if they settle for even half that I bet everyone will be happy.

One of the things that makes cases like these messy is that the failure to have a life guard may or may not have any true bearing on the out come (i.e. he might have died anyway even with a life guard present). However, the mere fact that they violated the law and were warned about it is enough to open up the door to liability. On the other hand the victim chose to train in murky waters without any support. Which seems to fly in the face of standard practices for some one was competing.

So the question then becomes how much liability should the resort be responsible for versus how liability the victim should be responsible for? But as said the amount of money being asked for is minimal I doubt it will get to that point.



BTW Folks (Clanggedin and 2 Big 2 Fail) should not be posting the articles in their entirety as that is considered redistribution. And I know the Tribune has had a fair amount of proactive education this practice lately. Besides this notice should be sufficient:

Copyright 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I think it is best to provide a link, the title, and most the intro paragraph.

 

[Clanggedin]

That is my guess as well. As it sounds as though the family is just trying to recover medical, funeral expenses, and attorney fees. $75K is not much and if they settle for even half that I bet everyone will be happy.

One of the things that makes cases like these messy is that the failure to have a life guard may or may not have any true bearing on the out come (i.e. he might have died anyway even with a life guard present). However, the mere fact that they violated the law and were warned about it is enough to open up the door to liability. On the other hand the victim chose to train in murk waters without and support. Which seems to fly in the face of standard practices for some one was competing.

So the question then becomes how much liability should the resort be responsible for versus how liability the victim should be responsible for? But as said the amount of money being asked for is minimal I doubt it will get to that point.



BTW Folks (Clanggedin and 2 Big 2 Fail) should not be posting the articles in their entirety as that is considered redistribution. And I know the Tribune has had a fair amount of proactive education this practice lately. Besides this notice should be sufficient:

Copyright 2011 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I think it is best to provide a link, the title, and most the intro paragraph.

Fixed..

 

[2 Big 2 Fail]

Fixed x2

 

[Zamfir]

IANAL, but > 75K may be mentioned because it brings into play federal jurisdiction if the defendants are citizens of more than one state, or one state and another country, etc...

it is likely they're asking for much more than that... [ <-- added for clarity ]


United States Code: Title 28,1332. Diversity of citizenship; amount in controversy; costs | LII / Legal Information Institute