There are many wonderful locations to snorkel or scuba dive in and around the Tampa area, including Fort De Soto State Park, Egmont Key State Park, Shell Key Preserve, and Crystal River. And Tampa’s warm weather can make snorkeling an especially popular pastime during most parts of the year, as tourists and residents alike flock to these and other destinations.
Unfortunately, some snorkeling or scuba diving excursions can end in disaster when things go wrong, like poorly maintained equipment, inadequate instruction, or inexperienced guides. Serious and even fatal injuries can result, with victims and their loved ones left trying to pick up the pieces.
If you or someone you love was hurt, Diaco Law is here to help. Reach out to our injury attorneys in Tampa today to schedule a free consultation with a Tampa snorkeling and scuba diving accident attorney to learn more.
How Do Snorkeling and Diving Accidents Happen?
Snorkeling and diving accidents can happen for many different reasons. Some of the most common causes of these accidents include:
- Diving or snorkeling equipment that has not been properly maintained
- Untrained excursion guides
- Failure to provide adequate instruction on snorkeling or dive safety
- Failure to perform adequate pre-diving safety checks
- Negligence on the part of the boat operator
- Unsafe water conditions
- Bad weather
- Improper ascent procedures that lead to decompression sickness
Diaco Law will carefully review the circumstances surrounding your accident to identify the cause of the incident. We also work with a team of trusted experts who can evaluate the cause of the incident and help you build your case.
Who is Responsible for Snorkeling and Diving Accidents?
You can pursue legal action against any person or company whose negligence was a cause of your snorkeling or diving accident. It will be up to you to show that they had a duty or an obligation to exercise reasonable care and to show that they breached that duty.
Some common examples of individuals and companies that could be held responsible for snorkeling and diving accidents include:
- Tour operators: If a snorkeling or scuba diving tour operator failed to maintain equipment, check weather and water conditions before the excursion, or otherwise take reasonable precautions to ensure your safety, you could pursue a claim for damages.
- Instructors: If an instructor is providing you with training but they fail to supervise you properly or are otherwise unreasonably careless in putting your life at risk, they could be responsible for the resulting damage.
- Equipment manufacturers: If regulators, tanks, buoyancy compensators, or other equipment have defects that cause or contribute to the accident, the companies that manufactured the equipment could potentially be held liable.
- Fellow divers: Fellow divers have certain obligations to be reasonably careful when on shared excursions. If an accident occurs because a dive buddy abandons a partner or leads them into an unsafe area they are not certified for, it’s possible that the other diver could be responsible for resulting losses.
- Boat operators: Boat operators must operate the vessel safely, follow precautions like marking dive areas with recognized flags, avoid dropping divers in unsafe or overcrowded water, and avoid speeding near divers. They can be held responsible if they fail in these or other crucial safety tasks.
Diaco Law helps you to identify those who played a role in your accident so you can maximize the number of defendants you take legal action against. This can help you get the full compensation you deserve.
What if You Signed a Waiver Before Your Excursion?
Many tour companies or scuba instructors require you to sign a waiver before you begin training or before you go on a dive or excursion. These waivers claim to release the company from liability.
However, the reality is that these waivers do not always block your ability to take legal action. In fact, they often don’t affect the compensation you can collect. That’s because waivers are typically limited to known or reasonable risks. They don’t excuse companies from fulfilling their duty of reasonable care when providing service to divers.
Diaco Law can help you to show why the defendant’s negligence or wrongdoing went beyond anything the waiver covered. We’ll help you demonstrate why you should be entitled to hold them accountable for the harm they have done to you.
Common Injuries Caused by Snorkeling and Scuba Diving Accidents
Some of the most common injuries that occur as a result of snorkeling and scuba diving accidents include:
- Decompression sickness: If a scuba diver ascends too quickly to the surface, dissolved nitrogen gas in their blood can expand and cause painful bubbles. This is a risk because scuba divers breathe compressed air while under high ambient water pressure.
- Drowning: Drowning can occur if equipment malfunctions occur underwater, if water conditions are unsafe, or if scuba divers or snorkelers are not properly supervised by excursion operators and panic, become fatigued, or suffer a medical emergency.
- Hypoxia: This refers to a severe lack of oxygen reaching the brain. It’s a risk in both snorkeling and scuba diving. In snorkeling, shallow-water blackouts can result from a snorkeler hyperventilating before submerging, causing a drop in carbon dioxide levels that results in them passing out from low oxygen before they feel the urge to breathe.
- Oxygen toxicity: Breathing oxygen at high partial pressures can sometimes cause central nervous system or pulmonary poisoning.
- Traumatic brain injuries: A watercraft striking a snorkeler or scuba diver near the water’s surface can cause traumatic brain injuries to occur, as can rough waters that cause the diver or snorkeler to be smashed into rocks, reefs, or heavy equipment.
Many of these injuries are life-threatening, fatal, or can result in permanent impairments. If someone else is responsible for your suffering, you should be fully compensated for all medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other resulting damage that occurs because of them.
Contact a Tampa Snorkeling and Scuba Diving Accident Attorney Today
Diaco Law understands the technical details of snorkeling and scuba diving accidents, and we know how to build strong cases. Give us a call or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with a Tampa snorkeling and scuba diving accident lawyer today for help.