Posted by Ken Kurtis on November 20, 2001 at 10:21:36:
In Reply to: Re: He might not be a Lawyer, but he has played them on TV! posted by MHK on November 20, 2001 at 09:33:17:
Michael is correct that we didn't use a separate waiver until after the September '97 fatality he refers to. Actually one of the big reasons we went to our own waiver - in addition to the boat waivers - was that the boat waivers simply named the boat and did not specifically name our DMs or our store, and we wanted what we felt was added protection.
The rest of what Michael contends about my challenging the validity of the PADI waivers because of type size is pure crapola. (I won't call Michael a liar on this because I believe he truly believes he's correct. But what he's saying simply isn't correct.)
I have NEVER challenged the validity of these waivers and for Michael to contune to contend that I have is simply absurd and untrue. Michael's always been very adept at revising history to suit his needs and then accusing those who state the true facts of being the revisionists. Another great rhetorical ploy.
As far as Gina's concerns, I have no clue as to what she expressed to Michael but can only relay the gist of the duiscussions she had with me and she made no mention of any exposure concerns nor did NAUI legal counsel. (Turns out the guy had an apparent heart attack on the surface and had a heart problem that his doctor may have dropped the ball on.) And the bottom line in this case is that no legal action was ever instituted (to the best of my knowledge) against the boat, our DMs (who did a fabulous job under trying circumstances), or our store.
And an important point to remember: We don't use the "home brew" waiver in place of the boat's PADI/NAUI waiver. We us it in addition to that waiver. So even if anyone had concerns about our waiver (which again, is something none of the legalpeople have EVER relayed to me), the PADI/NAUI boat waiver is still in play.
Since I tire quickly of he-said-she-said, this'll be my last comment on the matter. End of story.
- Ken