Scuba Diving Accidents & Product Recall: Know Your Equipment and Your Dive/Sports Companies

Emily Mapp Brannon

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 313

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Recently Silent Diving Systems made a voluntary recall on their Crimped Low Pressure Diving Hoses. The reason for the recall was due to the possibility that diving hoses may have been made without crimps which can allow gas to leak or water to enter into the re-breather unit of the scuba diving equipment, posing a drowning hazard to the diver. If the product defect goes unnoticed, death or catastrophic injuries could occur.

Devastating injuries or death can occur on commercial dives, and it is unclear if errors may be involved in the case involving the death of Joanne Page, 51 of North Carolina (NC). Page went on a dive with her boyfriend, Eugene Jackson, on a commercial dive boat in the Florida Keys in October 2008. They performed a dive previously in the day without a problem but on the second dive they had surfaced 100 meters from the dive boat. Jackson stated they had struggled against a very strong current but could not make any headway. After about a half hour of swimming Jackson noticed that Page had fallen behind. When he looked back she was face down in the water and appeared unconscious. The commercial boats dive crew did not notice the missing couple until other divers returned and they did a head count. The Coast Guard and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the emergency call. They found Jackson struggling to revive Page. Page was found dead on the scene.

Knowing your product recalls and checking on the pertinent safety rules and practices/history of a tourism dive/sports company may keep you from suffering an accident/injury or the death of a family member from negligence of a dive/sports company. Plan your trip, whether in VA, NC or elsewhere, in advance and do background research on the companies involved. Ask questions about the types of equipment they use and check the appropriate recall websites.

Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia, with offices in northeast NC and Virginia Beach (VA), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm's website is: hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits three injury law blogs: Virginia Beach Injuryboard & Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects