Posted by dirtdoc on January 28, 2005 at 08:00:15:
In Reply to: Drifting Dan sues shop, Captain Ray, and boat for $4,000,000 posted by Chris on January 27, 2005 at 17:41:32:
There appears to be to much "lawyers, guns, and money" going in the world.
The diver in question obviously made some mistakes(procedures, signaling, navigation,...)but the fact is that a captain and a dive master left a dive site without making sure all their people were on the boat. That is gross negligence.
Is it worth involving bottom feeding lawyers?.... unfortunately yes, and here is why.
If diver dan had wanted to make sure that the captain and dive master never made that stupid, but easily made mistake again he should have been able to teach that lesson himself without involving anyone but himself. After he was rescued he should have physically imprinted the lesson that leaving people behind in the ocean was a bad thing by delivering a justified, fearful and painful beating (no permanent injury)to both the captain and the dive master. The strongest lessons I have ever learned always involved pain and reward.
The problem with this solution is that after the beating, the two guilty parties would now be considered "victimized", would sue diver dan and 3 million dollars would still end up in some bottom feeding lawyers pockets.
Sooo, to end this rant, maybe the scuba community should demand head/voice counts on dive boats and begin encouraging lawyers to take up drift diving.
dive smart,
you are your own best(shortest)dive buddy,
sam