Disabled on scuba dive, man sues Coast Guard and DAN May 8, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Accidents, News, Travel , trackbackThere is a story in the St Petersburg Times today which tells the story of Timothy Hogan, who was spear fishing in the Gulf of Mexico at 122 feet when ‘His vision had gone blurry. When he blinked, he saw flashes of light, like electrical charges.’
The weird thing is that Hogan then ignored these signs and continued pulling in a 7lb mangrove snapper he had caught. Eventually arriving back on board his symptoms worsened and his toes were tingling, spreading to his legs. Divers Alert network and the coastguard were called, and a rescue was made, but unfortunately he has never walked since.
In March he filed a lawsuit against DAN and the coastguard, alledging that they mismanaged the rescue and the delays in getting Hogan to a recompression chamber, caused him to lose the use of his legs. Apparently the helicopter got lost during the rescue and by the time he reached the Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center in Fort Myers, more than five hours later, it was too late, he said.
The coastguard are defending the case stating that they are not a rescue agency and are not required to rescue divers, therefore they owe no duty of care.
Its a sad case, but if I had ’slipped a disc’ in my back, then I would be thinking twice about diving again the same day.
Comments»
It’s mean to say it’s his “fault” but he ignored the warning signs and did not seem to take reasonable precautions. I also wouldn’t have gone on the 2nd dive, and I certainly would have been concerned when I started seeing things. You can’t blame the Coast Guard. After all, they DID come!