Posted by northcoast diver on January 29, 2005 at 18:43:46:
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:
Insurance is for those mistakes that you cannot avoid, such as the difficulty of counting from 1 to 20, or the difficulty of reporting that your extra buddy did not come back with you from the dive, or the difficulty of double-checking the count, or the difficulty of using a more fool proof system for your dive passengers such as bracelets.
I don't feel anyone was at fault.
Beginners are always going to worm their way onto advanced dive boats.
DMs often cannot count to twenty without taking off their boat shoes.
Boat captains are often preoccupied from double checking the count before weighing anchor (nautical term).
Most boats don't use bracelets because the crew doesn't believe it needs to.
It could have been a lot worse. One hungry shark and poor Dan would have been unable to pass on his DNA, which is smart DNA, smart enough not to admit fault, so as to preserve his chances in civil court. :)