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Adri - Ironically, people who don't know anything are the most protected by the Good Samaritan Law (which is what this part of the thread is about). If you make a reasonable effort and you haven't been taught any better, then there isn't really anything they can sue you on. If you've received some training and know what's protocol and what's not, then doing stuff outside of protocol leaves you wide open. People in professional positions are the most open to a suit: DMs, instructors, guides, etc. That's why almost all agencies require them to have insurance. But there's two sides to the insurance -- having insurance also makes it more likely that you'll actually get sued. Which is most tempting to a lawyer: * Dive company with lots of insurance * Dive shop with insurance * Instructor with insurance * Boat captain with minimal insurance and a nice boat * Dive buddy who lives out of an old VW bus Unfortunately, when someone dies in the U.S., the family (encouraged by the lawyers and by society) wants to blame someone and see retribution done. The laws (they vary from state to state) are designed to protect innocent citizens in the situation you're talking about: they come across a life-or-death situation, should they help or not? So you're covered. This has nothing to do with diving, so the thread should die. This is the same principles that apply for any situation: hiking, gliding, climbing, etc. Do the best that you can with what you have and within the scope of common sense. If someone's already dead (not breathing), it's hard to kill them any more (so try what you can), but while we're in "dry dock", at least think about what options you might have. That way, you won't be stuck in a situation where you see an O2 deco reg and are tempted to intubate someone with it, you'll have thought out the best thing to do and use the equipment to its best. Karen ps. it's really sad that we can't have a civil, coherent discussion about this. obviously, some methods will work (some of the time) but they shouldn't be presented as the *best* method when clearly superior alternatives exist. i won't defend my own stupid mistakes and lucky breaks with anything but an admission that they were stupid mistakes and lucky breaks. i think i learnt a bit more about human psychology than i really wanted to. At 11:09 AM +0100 11/12/99, <Adriaan_Haine@ce*.be*> wrote: > Karen, > > If I understand you correctly: > > if I am not qualified as a rescue diver, I should just leave the victim alone > and watch him or her die? Because otherwise if she or he dies, I might be >sued > because I tried to save a life and failed doing so? > Is it not better to have tried and failed then to not even try? > > confused, > > > Adri Haine > -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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