When Dive Accidents (Utterly) Did Not Have to Happen by Al Hornsby

In reviews of serious dive accidents, a key issue all-too-often involves ignoring the guidelines that have been carefully created, evaluated and proven over time.

by Al Hornsby, owner, Al Hornsby Productions, Singapore

Al is regarded as one of the industry’s most experienced risk management litigation executives.

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WHEN DIVE ACCIDENTS are reviewed historically, it quickly becomes clear that many of the most serious, horrific ones simply did not have to happen at all… and when such incidents are analyzed factually, one can usually only ask, ‘What in the world were the dive professionals thinking?’ The flip side of this is, of course, that in any potentially dangerous activity, especially one with lots of variables – like diving – it is impossible to eliminate all risk. However, when standards are followed and due care is practiced, hundreds of thousands of dives can be carried out each year with no accidents at all.

One accident some years ago could serve as a poster child for fatal dives that simply need not have occurred, dives conducted in ways that could scarcely be imagined, much less used as apparent regular practice by a store and its instructors. In this case, it also was a store with resources, one which had begun building a franchise system of multiple stores in various parts of the US. The incident occurred in a southern, coastal state, in warm, shallow water, just offshore from a calm, sandy beach, where a small islet created a protected area, ideal for dive training and novice experiences.

Despite the introductory scuba standards of the dive organization in which the store was a member, the group was taken out without any formal academic orientation or training related to diving technique and risks, or the equipment they would use. Kitted-up at the water’s edge, they swam with their instructor out toward the islet, where the water was waist-deep. The divers were quickly scattered, with the instructor attempting to tend to them individually.

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One gentleman had become separated from the group and began breathing from his regulator, unfortunately swimming into deeper water, away from the beach and the islet. He was later found by searchers, deceased, out of air, on the bottom, well offshore, cylinder and BCD empty, his apparently too large-sized fins lost from his feet as he had struggled.

The litigation was quick and severe, with the dive store and instructional staff named, along with the dive organization to which they belonged. There was simply no adequate defense for the accident and how it came about. For the store, which was in the process of trying to establish a multi-location franchise operation, the incident effectively ended those dreams, and the store’s insurance took a significant hit.

Unfortunately, in reviews of serious dive accidents, a key issue all-too-often involves dive operations’ and dive professionals’  poor behavior in ignoring the guidelines that have been carefully created, evaluated and proven over time. And, when such accidents are called to task through the legal process, defense is difficult and the penalties can be severe. Such stories like this can serve as ample reminders of the risks created by ignoring the dive community’s well-considered and well-constructed dive training and supervisory standards.

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