AD 2015 Q4
This is the “not do” component. It is also somewhat harder to define. After all, who determines the duty to care and the non-compliance thereto in unique emergency situations? Still, this component is more likely to lead to a recovery of damages. Put differently, when you are under a legal duty to take reasonable care and you do not do it, then you could be held liable for damages that are directly caused by the breach of that duty. The key elements are “reasonable care” and “directly caused”. Let’s break that down, starting with directly caused. This means that the damages are linked directly to the failure to perform the reasonable duty. This is called a causal connection. In other words, there must be a connection between the duty not complied with and the damages. deep diving are so hazardous that it may well be better to only jeopardise the life of one individual rather than two. That is, of course, as long as no one is put at risk during the subsequent body recovery or rescue efforts! Well, as a qualified instructor and dive leader, I shall continue to teach and advocate the buddy system. I do not like the idea of diving alone anyway. I prefer to share the joys of diving with someone able to share the memories of the dive. To me, diving is, and remains, a team sport. Which introduces another consideration: How would the principle of duty to take care be applied to children who dive? Training agencies impose age and depth restrictions on children who enter the sport before the age of 14. Depending on the age and diving course, a child may be required to dive with an instructor or at least another adult dive buddy. If the adult were to get into trouble, the child would not be expected to meet the duty of care of another adult. He/she would be held to an age appropriate standard. What about all those waivers? As mentioned in the previous article, waivers define the boundaries of the self-imposed risk divers are willing to take by requiring that they acknowledge them. Waivers do not remove all the potential claims for negligence and non-compliance with a duty of care. As such, it is left to our courts to ultimately interpret the content of a waiver within the actual context of damage or injury.
This is the “not do” component. It is also somewhat harder to define. After all, who determines the duty to care and the non-compliance thereto in unique emergency situations? Still, this component is more likely to lead to a recovery of damages. Put differently, when you are under a legal duty to take reasonable care and you do not do it, then you could be held liable for damages that are directly caused by the breach of that duty. The key elements are “reasonable care” and “directly caused”. Let’s break that down, starting with directly caused. This means that the damages are linked directly to the failure to perform the reasonable duty. This is called a causal connection. In other words, there must be a connection between the duty not complied with and the damages.
deep diving are so hazardous that it may well be better to only jeopardise the life of one individual rather than two. That is, of course, as long as no one is put at risk during the subsequent body recovery or rescue efforts! Well, as a qualified instructor and dive leader, I shall continue to teach and advocate the buddy system. I do not like the idea of diving alone anyway. I prefer to share the joys of diving with someone able to share the memories of the dive. To me, diving is, and remains, a team sport. Which introduces another consideration: How would the principle of duty to take care be applied to children who dive? Training agencies impose age and depth restrictions on children who enter the sport before the age of 14. Depending on the age and diving course, a child may be required to dive with an instructor or at least another adult dive buddy. If the adult were to get into trouble, the child would not be expected to meet the duty of care of another adult. He/she would be held to an age appropriate standard. What about all those waivers? As mentioned in the previous article, waivers define the boundaries of the self-imposed risk divers are willing to take by requiring that they acknowledge them. Waivers do not remove all the potential claims for negligence and non-compliance with a duty of care. As such, it is left to our courts to ultimately interpret the content of a waiver within the actual context of damage or injury.
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STEPHEN FRINK<br />
STEPHEN FRINK<br />
STEPHEN FRINK STEPHEN FRINK<br />
Dive computers use various<br />
methods to determine<br />
surface pressure, and some<br />
are more accurate than<br />
others. To help ensure your<br />
computer measures the<br />
correct surface pressure,<br />
turn it on before you enter<br />
the water. This also allows<br />
you to confirm function and<br />
battery life.<br />
the same when diving at high altitude as when at sea level.<br />
However, it is possible for sudden pressure changes to<br />
trick the computer into falsely initiating a dive.<br />
Some computers do not auto-activate until an<br />
absolute pressure threshold is reached. While<br />
this method prevents erroneous activation, the<br />
disadvantage is that if the depth for auto-activation is<br />
3.3 feet at sea level, it would increase to about 10 feet at<br />
an altitude of 6,500 feet. For example, some computers<br />
keep a 10-minute history of pressures and upon<br />
activation choose the lowest pressure as the surface<br />
pressure. However, a dive could conceivably begin with<br />
a long swim shallower than 10 feet, which could result<br />
in an incorrect surface pressure determination.<br />
The simple solution to all of these problems is to<br />
manually turn on the dive computer while on the<br />
surface before the dive.<br />
Many decompression models adjust for altitude,<br />
which makes proper surface pressure determination<br />
critical. Other computers require manual adjustments<br />
for diving safely at altitude. Divers should refer<br />
to their dive computer’s operating instructions<br />
to see if automatic altitude adjustments for depth<br />
measurements are performed and if any limitations are<br />
listed. Note that some models, especially older ones,<br />
may not provide any compensation for altitude and/or<br />
may not have an auto-activation feature.<br />
RECOMMENDATIONS<br />
As a rule, turn on your dive computer manually at the<br />
surface immediately before each dive. This will allow<br />
you to confirm normal function and adequate battery<br />
life and allow the computer to sample the true surface<br />
pressure. When at altitude, some computers will display<br />
a mountain icon or other indication that the computer<br />
has adjusted for the reduced surface pressure.<br />
Read your computer’s operating instructions to learn<br />
its functions and limitations, and consider diving with<br />
multiple instruments — at least with a backup depth<br />
gauge. A second depth reading provides a reference to<br />
help spot errors. Ideally, the two instruments would<br />
be made by different manufacturers to avoid common<br />
failures in design or usage. Since an error in surface<br />
pressure measurement will appear as a constant offset<br />
in the depth reading throughout the dive, it can be<br />
spotted early, while the diver is still shallow.<br />
Diving at altitude is more complex than diving at sea<br />
level, and extra steps may be required. Don’t hesitate to<br />
ask questions of your dive computer’s manufacturer if<br />
you cannot find all the information you need. <strong>AD</strong><br />
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