Buddy Liability in the Case of an Accident: Calling all Diving Lawyers

[ReefHound]

I was taught Good Samaritan laws protect you as long as you act within the reasonable scope of your training. If you take a CPR course and then go attempt a field tracheotomy, you can expect to get sued if not prosecuted.

There was a CHUM thread about performing an Heimlich maneuver on drowning victims. The founder of the technique and some of his followers are adamant that it it far more effective than standard rescue breathing and CPR. Yet it is rejected by most mainstream experts and not recommended by Red Cross and other such organizations. The point was that by applying a technique that you know is contrary to your training, you may be losing protection of Good Samaritan.

[scubasavvy]

All of the above is true, but what if your buddy was causing you or the entire group harm or putting you in harm's way? You did not enter the wreck because of your certification level, so you tried to persuade him against going. You cannot be liable for that. I think you could technically counter sue for risk of injury or negligence on their part.

[BouzoukiJoe]

I am wondering on what grounds he could sue you unless you did something to cause the accident (like drop your tank on his regulator before the dive).

I have an umbrella policy that covers anything that is not specifically excluded. And there are only a couple of exlusiion. My insurance company would either fight the suit or settle depending on what was cheaper for them.

[cummings66]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

There was an old joke I heard from an attorney friend of mine. It goes....
"We are placing the facts before people who are not smart enough to get out of jury duty" Scary isn't it?

I was at a trial once where the judge said that any reason you came up with to get excused would be investigated and if found to be false charges would be brought.

There was no questions asked of the jury pool, basically it went like this. This is a trial about X and is expected to take Y amount of time. If you have a reason you can't serve due to medical or work related reasons then you may come forwards and tell the judge why you may not be able to serve.

A couple stated relationships and working in the court. The rest of us then got drawn at random, seriously. They put our names in a basket and drew the names, no questions were asked at all. Not one other than the why can't you serve and be warned we will check it out.

I'm not sure there was a way out of that one. However, that statement does show the elitist attitude many of them have. PS, I know lots of them by the way and I agree there are a FEW good ones out there.

[Mtrewyn]

Originally Posted by BuzzF117

My safety comes first plane and simple. If my buddy does something to put me into danger then who is at fault. I was taught to dive within my training and skills and that is what I always plan on doing. Only person I would risk it for would be my wife or child who by no fault of their own got into trouble i.e. equipment malfunction or entanglement.

Buzz out

This is the way we should all think, It would be a much better world if we all did.

This could extent to all aspects of your life, If you don't know what you are doing get help or don't do it.