Posted by Ken Kurtis on July 03, 2002 at 10:39:10:
In Reply to: Re: ESA's posted by Tribes on July 03, 2002 at 09:12:49:
Tribes wrote: "I guess what it comes down to, is the practical experience of doing a ESA in the ocean worth the very real risk of having an accident (is it worth the law suit that follows the accident)? I don’t think so."
Like I said, it's a tough call. I can't disgaree with any of the problems and situations you point out and you're certainly right about one time's not enough.
However . . .
If you choose to eliminate the drill in the ocean you are in violation of standards (at least if you teach NAUI, and I'm pretty sure PADI's the same but I'd have to check).
Now let's suppose this diver you certified, who didn't so the ascent drill because you eliminated it out of safety concerns, goes out on a dive, runs out of air and embolizes. During the investigation, it WILL come out that you eliminated (for seemingly valid reasons) the very drill that could possibly have prevented his embolism. Wanna guess what the verdict in the case will be????
The point of this is that it's almost damned if you do and damned if you don't. I think you raise some valid safety concerns. But I think you may raise bigger problems when you start deviating from standards. If the skill is that dangerous (and I don't have any stats on number of embolisms that happen during training while performing this skill) then we should be lobbying for the standard to be changed, and not just eliminate it on our own, as that may create other problems down the road.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI INstr. #54936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA