Write Up of Near Death in Monterey

[Jim Lapenta]

I believe the twin hose was the authors and remember the instructor prevented the victim from going for her own octo, which is always a viable option if your primary is screwed. And so what if the author was using a vintage reg. Just shows how uninformed the instructor is.

I'd welcome it and ask if I could try it after the checkouts were done! But I guess it is not part of a shops ridiculous "total diving system" they want to sell to every new diver. Even if it doesn't meet their needs. In my view having someone along with a different set up gives me a chance to learn and add to my students knowledge base by having the user explain it to them if I do not happen to be familiar with it.

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[flots am]

If there's been an accident, instructors/DM's are supposed to inform their respective agencies, right? So the other agencies they teach for should be aware of the incident? I guess there were few professionals that were witnesses to the events...

I'm not actually sure how that works. Is it a standards violation for an agency if you screw up on another agency's class?

flots.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I cannot speak to every agency. But with SDI/TDI, SEI, CMAS, and NAUI if you have been disciplined or removed by an agency you are certed to teach through you must make the other agencies aware of that. And you must also notify your personal liability insurance carrier of the action. That's for Witherspoon for sure. And I'd be surprised if the others don't have a similar requirement.

If the incident involved a death or serious injury I would hope that the teaching status would be at a minimum reviewed and IMO should be suspended until the matter is resolved. No agency in their right mind would want to chance an instructor that has alledgedly harmed a student to get the chance to do it again. The liability would be huge.

In addition I would think that the insurance companies would look at it like a live grenade with the pin pulled and two fingers holding the lever down. Just a matter of time.
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[letterboy]

Because this is all the instructors fault.

Had nothing to do with the guy undermining them.

Actually the instructors if uncomfortable should not have taught her. Or told him to bug off and not be anywhere around.

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[darushin]

This makes a good case for getting DAN insurance. before you get in the water.

I think students of instructors with professional Dan coverage get free coverage during open water training via their instructor's card.

Daru

 

[InTheDrink]

One slightly orthogonal question that occurs to me is how come the somewhat famous diver in question didn't find some instructors he knew and trusted to get his GF trained. Strange.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

It seems everyone has an opinion, and so I will share mine. I am glad the girlfriend survived. She survived in spite of and not because of the actions of the instructors on site. Only those who were there know the facts. There were plenty of witnesses to different stages of this transaction, so no speculation is needed. Facts are facts, and will come out not in social media posts or magazine articles, but through proper investigation and sworn testimony. What we have available to us to comment upon is the account presented in this thread, and by that account, many things were done improperly by the professionals in charge. Time to move on now.
DivemasterDennis

 

[flots am]

I think students of instructors with professional Dan coverage get free coverage during open water training via their instructor's card.Daru

AFAIK if the students don't sign up for it they don't get it.

flots.

 

[letterboy]

should this be covered by obama care anyway . . .

 

[peterbj7]

Sadly often the true facts never emerge. The people for whom they would be bad PR find a way to suppress them.

PADI's position is that unless you're directly involved in an incident they won't accept a report from you. I've come across that several times. Down here (Belize) PADI controls the (recreational) roost and almost all instructors/DMs/operators are PADI affiliated. People involved in an incident usually don't want to report it - for obvious reasons - and if PADI won't accept reports from anyone else it means that most incidents go unreported/uninvestigated. Not an ideal state of affairs.