In Reply to: Scuba Diving accident Lawyer posted by Fiona on July 09, 2005 at 22:38:40:

I am sorry for what you and your family are going through, and I'm sure it's very difficult for you to understand why this happened. If you are not a diver, it is probably even more difficult.

Diving has risks, and your sister knew about these risks. She would have signed a release that day stating that she knew there were risks and that she accepted them. If, she was diving at 100 feet as someone suggested, certain changes in perception make it easy to become distracted and not realize that you are low on air. Divers are trained to be aware of this risk, and to monitor gauges very closely. This is more likely the case than a faulty guage. However, if the gauge was faulty, she should have discovered it prior to running out of air. Even if there was a problem with a gauge and it shows the improper pressure, a diver will know that something is not right because their gauge will show they are not using air. At that point, a diver will abort the dive, ascending slowly to the surface with their buddy, ready to share air if necessary.

I know that it is probably very hard to accept, but based on what you shared about her experience, your sister did not follow proper procedures for an out of air situation. Unfortunately, the consequences were tragic. It's natural to want to find "blame" at this stage of your grief. Diving equipment failures are extremely rare, and if her equipment was gathered at the time of her accident, as it should have been, then her equipment will be tested to verify that it was in working order. A lawsuit won't help your sister wake up, and it won't change the fact that as hard as it may be to hear, her panic was probably responsible for what happened. It's tragic, she is probably a wonderful person and close to you. All people make mistakes, and it doesn't mean she wasn't a great person, but the underwater environment is very unforgiving.

I hope that you and your family are able to work through this very difficult time and accept what has happened. If you choose to seek legal counsel, this bulletin board probably is not the place to seek advice. We are divers that have spent alot of time underwater, and have bonded with each other through our love of a sport. We do accept the risks, and lawsuits are something we find very hard to accept.

Best of luck to you and your family, Fiona.