Posted by SLANG on January 20, 2003 at 16:06:01:
In Reply to: Genesis of the Reef Seekers out-of-air policy posted by Ken Kurtis on January 19, 2003 at 14:39:48:
You'd never get close to hearing any questions like those in a court room. During your deposition, early in the case . . . maybe.
Based on a little research I've recently done in support of a (supposedly) soon-to-be-published article on a closely related topic I can tell you there is just not that much published case law on the issue. What there is would suggest there are limits to the "duty of care." The popular interpetation of the bottom line is basically, as long as you're dealing with a person who has been certified by a recognized agency as a recreational SCUBA diver, you cannot be expected to anticipate stupidity. And expert witness testimony would be found to back that up at trial.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't maintain your policy; it just seems you are putting yourself in a tough situation if you state publicly that your people should be able to foresee all the dumb things divers are going to do on any given boat trip. Just my personal opinion, FWIW.
Good luck.
SLANG