As a maritime lawyer, I frequently represent commercial divers injured in accidents underwater. Most commercial diving work involves being in the water, unlike a lot of other seamen who may spend much of their employment working on board a vessel. However, this doesn’t mean that there are no commercial dive-related injuries caused by unseaworthy dive boats.
A dive boat must come equipped with equipment that helps the worker perform his activities safely. This includes communication equipment, ladders and platforms, and other gear. Most importantly, dive boats must come with all essential lifesaving equipment that can help an injured diver recover quickly. Failure to have life saving aids on board can constitute unseaworthiness, leading to a claim against the vessel owner.
Dive boat operators must also be trained to observe signs of serious dive injuries, like decompression sickness. Symptoms of decompression sickness may include
- Headache
- Vertigo
- Extreme fatigue
- Joint pain
- Muscular weakness
- Respiratory difficulties
- Rashes
- Tingling sensation in the extremities
- Loss of consciousness
- Shock
There must be people on board the dive boat who can offer first aid assistance to a distressed diver. First aid involves
- 100 percent oxygen through a mask
- Giving the diver lots of fluids
- Performing first aid in case of unconsciousness
- Keeping the diver warm
- Rushing the diver to a hospital
Failure to perform first aid, and lack of 100 percent oxygen on the boat – all of this can constitute unseaworthiness, placing the boat owner liable in the diving accident.
Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board Certified trial lawyer, whose primary focus is the representation of injured Jones Act seamen, tankermen, commercial divers, galleyhands, deckhands, drillers, oilrig workers, offshore workers, cruise ship employees, and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, around the country and in international waters.
