Ruling overturned on compensation Scapa Flow

[Khrissi]

Sadly a bad result for family of diver , £290,000 compensation revoked .
Obviously it comes down to lawyers , but duty of care etc .

Judges overturn boy's £290,000 diving death payout

An Orkney boat company appealed over compensation to the son of a diver who died off Cape Wrath.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Khrissi]

Judges overturn boy's £290,000 diving death payout

An Orkney boat company appealed over compensation to the son of a diver who died off Cape Wrath.

www.bbc.co.uk

Sorry - link is being weird - cut and paste , K

 

[wnissen]

That does sound like a very unfortunate situation. I remember very clearly being told in Open Water that "we don't walk around like ducks" even on the concrete pool deck. Just last month I fell on my back while clambering down a rocky seawall in my boots. Luckily the only thing hurt was my pride, and it didn't affect our shallow dive. But I can see how a mild injury could cascade on a technical dive.

 

[clownfishsydney]

I think that is fair enough.

 

[John Bantin]

We thought (wrongly) American litigation had come to Europe: Wearing Fins on Deck Proves Fatal: Undercurrent 10/2021

 

[Pedro Burrito]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Moved from A&I

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[Wibble]

Not at all a wrong decision.

The boat is a taxi and it's up to the diver to decide if he's fit to dive

The consequences are great if the skipper is held responsible for diving accidents. May as well end all diving.

 

[Wookie]

The boat is a taxi and it's up to the diver to decide if he's fit to dive

Is that codified in UK regulation somewhere?

On the US West Coast the prevailing opinion is very much that.

On the US Southeast, the opposite opinion prevails.

 

[Wibble]

In the UK it's accepted that the skipper is responsible for delivering you to the dive site, hanging around and picking you up.

That whole case seems to be around trying to blame the boat/skipper for a diver falling over and then diving. A sad case maybe with a lot of sympathy for the family.


By blaming the skipper, there's a kind of obligation for the skipper to be able to determine who's fit to dive. What next, checking cards, getting doctor's notes... Many skippers don't dive and how on earth do you manage the complexities of today's diving, especially with rebreathers.


It's a nonsense. Diving is fundamentally a dangerous sport -- you can't breathe water. We do what we can to mitigate risks, but at the end of the day we have to accept responsibility for our choices.