Report on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive

Appendix B: Fatality Case <strong>Report</strong>sdid not. Another diver went down and pulledthe decedent to the surface. The stricken divernever regained consciousness, and the diverwho rendered assistance required treatmentfor decompression sickness. The decedent hada stringer full of grouper attached to his body;his tank was empty. The medical examinerdetermined the cause of death to be drowningsecondary to an air embolism.03-47 Diver with advanced certification,questionable competency, made multipledives into kelp bed, separated from buddies,lost consciousness on surfaceCause of Death: Drowning due to AirEmbolismThis 41-year-old male had advanced openwatercertification and eight years of divingexperience. He had been described as not avery competent diver. The diver made a seriesof dives with dive buddies into a kelp bed.The decedent had been having buoyancy troubleall day. During the fourth dive of the day,the decedent separated from his buddies andascended. At the surface, he called for assistancebefore losing consciousness. The deathwas determined to be a drowning secondaryto an air embolism. The autopsy also disclosedmild coronary artery disease.03-48 Experienced rescue diver made nightdive on leftover nitrox and ran out of airCause of Death: Drowning due to AirEmbolismThis 18-year-old male possessed rescue divercertification and had received his initial openwatercertification 18 months earlier. He hadcompleted at least 130 dives. The diver made ashore-entry night dive using nitrox. This wasthe third dive of the day, and the diver and hisbuddy went to 93 fsw (28 msw) for 25 minutes.One report states that the decedent mayhave used the same tank of gas to completemore than one dive. The decedent ran out ofbreathing gas and made a rapid ascent. At thesurface, he lost consciousness. While his deathwas ruled to be a drowning, it was more likelythat he drowned after suffering an airembolism.03-53 Solo diver made several ascents anddescents for game collection, lost consciousnessat surfaceCause of Death: Drowning due to AirEmbolismThis 52-year-old male had open-water certificationbut had an unknown amount of divingexperience. He made a solo dive from a boat togather lobster or other marine life. Anotherperson, snorkeling in the same area, watchedthe diver make several descents and ascents.After one ascent, the diver lost consciousnessafter surfacing. Resuscitation efforts wereunsuccessful. The autopsy findings were consistentwith drowning, but postmortem imagingstudies showed abundant air in the heartand great vessels. Other findings included leftventricular hypertrophy (overgrown or excessivedevelopment of an organ or body part)and moderate coronary artery disease. Themedical examiner concluded that the diverdrowned secondary to an air embolism.Proximate Cause: Cardiac03-14 Diver with unknown certificationand experience level, had cardiac eventwhile divingCause of Death: Cardiac DysrhythmiaThis 53-year-old male allegedly suff e red afatal cardiac event while diving. An autopsyreport, if an autopsy was performed, was notmade available. There was no informationavailable on the diver’s certification status,level of experience or the circumstances surroundingthe fatal event.110DAN’s <strong>Report</strong> on Decompression Illness, Diving Fatalities and Project Dive Exploration: 2004 Edition