The New Jersey case you discussed Apr. 21 has gotten a lot of attention in the dive community, as in this discussion thread (I'm Divepartner1).
But not all recent cases point in the same direction. A different court decision, which has also gotten wide attention in the dive community, upheld liability waivers signed by a man who died trying to dive the site of the Andrea Doria shipwreck. The case, decided under New York Law, is Murley et al. v. Deep Explorers, et al,, 2003 U.S.Dist LEXIS 14749 (E.D. N.Y. 2003)(PDF).
After reading the story you linked, I should add that no one who knows anything about diving would likely see the basis of a negligence action under the facts detailed in the story. Tragic, but the circumstances suggest diver error.
New Jersey is already driving what may be an unhealthy degree of "preventive medicine" in the scuba field. N.J. dive boats require all divers to bring a secondary air source -- i.e., either double tanks or carry a "pony bottle" of 20 cubic feet or more, regardless of the depth of the dive. Thus, a diver unfamiliar with the confusion of this kind of rig has to deal with added complexity, added weight, less mobility, more failure points, more drag or snag risks, ect., than that diver may have the experience to deal with. Greater complexity increases the risk of confusion and panic.
A diver with a modern regulator with a secondary back-up reg., a tank big enough for his/her needs, and most importantly, a skilled buddy should have all that is needed in a dive of 120 fsw or shallower. Delaware boats (from which I often dive) leave equipment to the discretion of the diver, in the same waters. -- Paul A. Meyer, Washington, D.C.
Posted by Walter Olson at July 26, 2004 12:21 AM