Honolulu Scuba Diving Accident Attorney
A Honolulu scuba diving accident attorney from the Recovery Law Center can assist you if you or a family member has been hurt in a scuba diving incident. We help victims pursue compensation, get answers and hold companies accountable when injuries occur.
We are experienced lawyers who help victims claim monetary compensation through legal claims. To see what your claim may be worth and start today, contact us for your free consultation.
Legal Representation for Scuba Diving Injuries
There are several scuba diving companies that operate in the Honolulu area. These companies promise a safe and fun experience, but what happens when things go wrong?
According to Diver Magazine, 100 fatalities occur in North America each year because of scuba diving accidents. The Divers Alert Network reports more than 1,000 accidents per year. For these victims and families, lives are changed in an instant.
If you have been harmed while scuba diving, our Honolulu scuba diving accident attorneys may represent you in a claim for financial compensation. We take cases throughout Honolulu and Hawaii. With an understanding of scuba diving accidents and injuries, and experience in personal injury law, our dedicated team can help you today.
We have genuine concern for your physical, emotional and financial well-being. We believe in justice for all. Contact us to talk about your situation and begin today.
Causes of Scuba Diving Accidents
- Rapid ascent: Ascending too quickly can cause nitrogen to form small bubbles in body tissues. This is a serious and life-threatening medical condition.
- Lack of buoyancy control: Controlling the degree to which a diver floats or sinks is key to safety. Failing to control an ascent through trained techniques can lead to diving injury.
- Defective equipment: Poor equipment design, inadequate inspection before use, or choosing to use faulty equipment.
- Inadequate training: Guides and divers alike should have adequate knowledge of safe diving procedures including monitoring gauges, using the buddy system and avoiding caves or wrecks if not adequately skilled.
- Lack of monitoring: Divers should be adequately monitored during diving activities.
- Poor response training: Divers should be trained to handle potentially dangerous situations. They must be taught to avoid panic reactions.
- Entanglement: Successful deployment of a Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB) avoids entanglement that may pull the diver to the surface.
- Descending too deep: Diving too deep can result in nitrogen narcosis. The effect may be poor judgment and confusion.
- Personal health: A person must be healthy enough to dive. There are many things in diving that may trigger a coronary event including exercise, stress, cold and hyperbaric gases.
- Boating and motor vehicle accidents: Someone participating with a tour company may be involved in a boating or motor vehicle accident during the experience.
- Marine life: Divers may be injured by a marine animal attack. Harm may result from bleeding, venom and internal damage.
- Collisions underwater: Underwater collisions can cause injury to divers.
Scuba Diving Injuries
Decompression illness (DCI)
When a person ascends from diving, pressure levels change rapidly. Gas bubbles can form in blood vessels. Symptoms of decompression illness and sickness may be both physical and mental. Decompression-related conditions may be called divers’ disease, aerobullosis, caisson disease and the bends.
Air embolisms
As a diver ascends, the air in their lungs may expand. Gas bubbles may circulate in the body, disrupting circulation. Conditions may include arterial gas embolism, mediastinal or subcutaneous emphysema, disruption of normal brain functioning and other injury. Divers must be trained in proper breathing techniques during ascent to minimize the risk of an embolism.
Drowning
A diving accident may result in drowning.
Blunt force trauma
Whether the result of an animal attack, boating incident or motor vehicle collision during transportation, a person may suffer blunt force trauma during a diving trip.
Nitrogen narcosis
Generally occurring when diving at greater depths, nitrogen narcosis can appear like alcohol intoxication, interfering with cognition.
Oxygen toxicity
Too much oxygen can be dangerous. It can damage the lungs, causing seizures and even death.
Other injury
However you or a loved one has been harmed in a scuba diving accident, our Honolulu personal injury attorneys want you to receive justice.
Proving your right to compensation
Building your case begins with an investigation. We look at direct and underlying causes of the accident and injury. For example, a flooded facemask may be a direct cause of injury. However, the underlying cause may be an inexperienced instructor. We gather records, talk to witnesses, work with experts and analyze information to determine what occurred.
A scuba diving accident typically involves three key occurrences:
- Triggering event: The first thing that sets the series of events in motion
- Disabling or harmful event: The subsequent event or factor that creates the injury
- Disabling injury: Occurrence of the injury itself
Many disabling events are preventable. When negligence is an underlying cause of the accident and harm to the victim, they may claim compensation for their damages.
But I signed a waiver – can I still claim compensation?
When you sign up for your scuba diving trip, you usually sign a waiver. You may have checked some boxes without reading them. Does signing a waiver prevent you from receiving compensation?
Usually not. Signing a scuba diving waiver acknowledges that the activity is inherently dangerous. However, that doesn’t relieve the scuba diving company of their duty of care to act safely and minimize risk of harm.
Common dive sites near Honolulu
- Rainbow Reef/Turtle Canyon
- YO-257/San Pedro/Diamond Head
- Sea Tiger
- Nautilus Reef
- Horseshoe Reef
- Nashua YTB 774/Secret Wreck
- Kewalo Pipe Reef
Lawyers for Scuba Diving Accident Compensation
We are attorneys for scuba diving accident compensation. When you have medical bills, lost income, disruption in your travel and other damages, you can take legal action. You may also claim compensation for pain and suffering associated with injuries or loss of a loved one.
Talk to a Lawyerin Honolulu
Have you or a loved one been hurt in a scuba diving accident? Talk to an attorney at the Recovery Law Center. We have decades of experience representing injury victims.
Contact our Honolulu scuba diving accident lawyers today for a free consultation and to begin your case.
