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I really shouldn't rag on asshole blood-sucking lawyers so much, after all they are on my side on the issue of solo diving. In the latest Rondales there is an incident where an inexperienced diver got left behind by her "buddies" and, for some reason, croaked. The dead persons' family then sued the state (it was a shore dive), the land owner, the equipment companies, the equipment rental companies, "several john doe's" (those wacky lawyers sure like to keep all bases covered, don't they?) and the dive buddies. Of course understand that the dead girl's family was not gold-digging, they were emotionally distraught and, Thank God, there were some ambulance-chasers around to assist them in their time of need. Turns out that the only case which stuck was against the dive buddies, who settled out of court with the "sewers" shysters for an undisclosed amount. So, the next time dive boat tries to foist a moron on you as your "dive buddy", just tell him/her "Hell, no! My insurance doesn't cover a dive buddy". That ought to get everybody's head spinning. Jim On 5/22/97 7:46 AM Doug Chapman wrote: >While I was a member of a Diving Safety Board at a university a few years >ago. the issue of the legality of administering pure oxygen (in Florida) to >a diver with injury (bends or embolism) by an uncertified individual (e.g. >not a paramedic) was brought up. My opinion was simple - I don't care as >long as it is not done using forced ventilation. However the Diving Officer >went off to the insurance company and their lawyers, and the following >response was returned. We (the insurance company) believe the hazards of >administering pure oxygen to a diver with illness is greater than the >potential hazards of getting the bends or embolizing with dives of 100ft or >shallower (the university limited dives to 100ft or shallower). Therefore >you (the university) should not require and use O2 on site during diving >operations for a diving emergency. > >If the subject was not serious, the letter from the insurance company would >have been considered a joke. We need to be careful what these lawyers and >experts feed us because in most cases they don't have the slightest clue. > >Think about it the next time a lawyer gives you advice, > >Doug Chapman -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send list subscription requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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