Trips when divers aren’t ready/equipped for them

[hammet]

Marie,

This kind of thing scares the crap out of me. Not the diving part, but the fact that you are opening yourself up to a world of financial hurt should an accident happen. And it doesn't matter if they sign a liability waiver, which you would need a lawyer experienced with dive charters to draw up for you. The victims or their surviving families' lawyers will have no qualms putting you through the ringer trying to defend yourself in court. And mark my words, that will be quite costly if it doesn't bankrupt you personally. When s&*t happens, lawyers sue everyone they can and see what sticks.
No way in hell would I do what you're doing without setting up an limited liability company with adequate liability insurance PLUS another $5-10 million of personal umbrella coverage.
You know the saying on the 'other forum' that we belong to: 'you might beat the rap, but you won't beat the ride.'

 

[Marie13]

Kind of funny people are bringing this up now. I did the same for last year’s Alpena trip (that got blown out before we left) and for this year’s Alpena trip. I know some folks who are very liability averse and no one ever brought this up.

Edit: Some food for thought anyway.

 

[CT-Rich]

Seems to me, if you get six friends to say, “hey, let’s get a boat booked just for us” and contact the skipper and ask him to hold the seats while everyone signs up, youhave virtually no exposure. They all deal directly with the captain and he is liable for whatever he is liable for. Everyone uses their best judgement, including the captain.

Worst case scenario is the trip falls apart. I don’t see a compelling reason to be in charge, where you start assuming liability. That’s what travel agents are for....

 

[lv2dive]

Did you ask for opinions on how to handle these types of divers for those other trips? It seems to me that all anyone is doing is giving you their opinions, which is what you asked for.

Kind of funny people are bringing this up now. I did the same for last year’s Alpena trip (that got blown out before we left) and for this year’s Alpena trip. I know some folks who are very liability averse and no one ever brought this up.

Edit: Some food for thought anyway.

 

[Marie13]

Did you ask for opinions on how to handle these types of divers for those other trips? It seems to me that all anyone is doing is giving you their opinions, which is what you asked for.

The liability issue being brought up, is what I meant. I had just asked how to deal with the diver issue n

 

[lv2dive]

The way I read people’s comments, depending on how you deal with the diver issue, you may open up yourself to liability concerns. So it was pretty applicable. I found it educational - I hadn’t thought of some of the points people made, and it made me realize I will likely never organize another diving trip!

The liability issue being brought up, is what I meant. I had just asked how to deal with the diver issue n

 

[Marie13]

The way I read people’s comments, depending on how you deal with the diver issue, you may open up yourself to liability concerns. So it was pretty applicable. I found it educational - I hadn’t thought of some of the points people made, and it made me realize I will likely never organize another diving trip!

Going to talk with a lawyer friend of mine. A friend of mine who has organized trips (as an individual) made sure to spell out the specifics of conditions that might be encountered (wrecks, depths, water temp, current, etc) with any recommended gear from the dive op (such as redundancy) and handed out that to everyone who was interested before deposits were put down, also listed such thugs as dates, cost, deposit amounts/deadlines, etc. Everyone had to sign it - that way they couldn’t pretend they didn’t get it.

 

[hammet]

The way I read people’s comments, depending on how you deal with the diver issue, you may open up yourself to liability concerns. So it was pretty applicable. I found it educational - I hadn’t thought of some of the points people made, and it made me realize I will likely never organize another diving trip!

I'm assuming marie is going thru this trouble of organizing the trip with strangers to get a free ticket. I used to do that with ski trips many years ago where I would get free lift tickets or hotel rooms if I got a certain amount of people to sign up.
A kid who came along one trip had too much too drink one night and got his brains scrambled when he fell on some ice. I didn't actually have to face the music, but I did have to consult with a lawyer to cover my ass.
Made me think twice about how 'free' a free trip really is.

 

[Marie13]

I'm assuming marie is going thru this trouble of organizing the trip with strangers to get a free ticket. I used to do that with ski trips many years ago where I would get free lift tickets or hotel rooms if I got a certain amount of people to sign up.
A kid who came along one trip had too much too drink one night and got his brains scrambled when he fell on some ice. I didn't actually have to face the music, but I did have to consult with a lawyer to cover my ass.
Made me think twice about how 'free' a free trip really is.

Nope, no free ticket. Just want to dive the wrecks I want with people I know.

 

[hammet]

Going to talk with a lawyer friend of mine. A friend of mine who has organized trips (as an individual) made sure to spell out the specifics of conditions that might be encountered (wrecks, depths, water temp, current, etc) with any recommended gear from the dive op (such as redundancy) and handed out that to everyone who was interested before deposits were put down, also listed such thugs as dates, cost, deposit amounts/deadlines, etc. Everyone had to sign it - that way they couldn’t pretend they didn’t get it.

Problem with that is most waivers don't cover your negligence. And like I said, lawyers sue EVERYONE anyway.

ETA: they may be your friends, but their laywer brother-in-law couldn't care less about you when your friend is in a coma.