Scuba Diving Article

Scuba Diving and The Law

You may not want to think about it but dive accidents and dive injuries do happen, and when they do, just like in an automobile accident, or other injuries it is important that you the scuba diver know your rights. Laws involving Scuba Diving and especially Scuba diving law as it elates to accidents and injuries, are very complex and best left to the experts.

The unpleasant facts are every year at Scuba Dive Sites all over the world, 70 and 100 Americans loose their lives due to a diving accident. Hundreds more are seriously injured, sometimes including paralysis and loss of significant bodily functions. Often it is the divers own fault, but many times these injuries are the direct result of dive operator error or lack of proper diver training. Only an attorney who specializes in Scuba, Maritime, or Admiralty Law can help you determine if you have a case, but here are some of the most common reason for Dive Accidents.

Inadequate or deficient training is an unfortunate cause of many dive accidents. As scuba has grown in popularity, dive training and certification classes are not as well regulated as they could be. While most dive operations are run by trained and experienced professionals, others are more concerned with pushing people through the class and getting in the next group then they are about diver safety. This is borne out by an alarming statistic, in most diving deaths, the diver is found still wearing a weight belt and believe it or not, with air left in their tanks. While only a full investigation can determine what caused the tragedy, it would seem in a significant amount of such cases, had the diver simply jettisoned their weight belt as they should have been taught to they should have been able to safely reach the surface. A large portion of the blame for such events rests with a dive operation or training class that "certified" a diver and yet left them horribly unprepared to safely dive.

If the diver is not to blame, or the dive operation is not at fault, unfortunately sometimes the very concept that has been designed to help divers, the "Buddy System" can cause or add to a problem. All scuba divers know that a well-trained and experienced buddy can mean survival when faced with an emergency situation. On the other hand, an incompetent dive buddy can cause a problem or make a bad situation worse. Also an incompetent or poorly trained buddy can lead to the death or injury of a competent diver who is needed to render assistance to a foolish or unskilled buddy. This is a complex legal situation. From a legal standpoint, when one takes on the responsibility of being a scuba dive buddy, one is expected to act efficiently and adeptly in the event of an emergency.

And finally equipment failure can be the cause of dive deaths and accidents. Although, today's scuba equipment is for the most part very safe and dependable. When properly maintained equipment is rarely the direct cause of diver injury or death. However, poorly maintained equipment, especially rental equipment, can lead to a tragedy. For example a damaged or defective regulator that begins to free-flow can cause an improperly trained diver to panic and bolt to the surface causing injury or death. In fact most dive injuries or deaths are attributable to panic and rapid accent.

Scuba Diving is a low risk activity especially for those who are properly trained and dive taking the proper safety precautions, but unfortunately accidents do occur, and when they do there are legal diving professionals available to hold those at fault accountable, for the betterment of the sport.