Scuba diving instructor violates dive standards and student is paralyzed

Caption | Facts | Case

Caption:

Eck v. Pan Aqua Diving, Inc., Gary Collins, Scuba Training Consultants, Inc. and Marc Frankel

 

Facts:

Plaintiff, Brian Eck, then a twenty-six (26) year old scuba diving student, was paralyzed when his instructor, Marc Frankel, brought him to a depth of 123' for a bottom time duration of 15 minutes during an ocean training dive causing him to contract decompression sickness (“the bends”). The depth was in violation of the standards set forth by the certifying agency for both training dives (60') and recreational dives (100'). The depth and duration was in violation of the standards set forth by the certifying agency for all recreational diving.

 

Case:

After he was retained by the plaintiff, Edward Nitkewicz registered for and completed a scuba diving certification course.

During the prosecution of the case, Nitkewicz caused the defendant to admit violating the standards of the scuba diving industry and lying to the certifying agency about the incident.

One of the main topics covered in scuba courses is the avoidance of decompression sickness (“DCS” or “the Bends”). DCS is a very serious medical condition which is caused when excess nitrogen forms bubbles in the body’s blood vessels. Student divers learn that “the deeper you dive and the longer you stay, the more excess nitrogen your body absorbs”. Students are taught that the two primary factors to consider in avoiding decompression sickness are the depth and duration of dives.

Recreational divers are advised to limit their dives to a maximum depth of 60 feet. With greater training and experience, certified divers may dive to 100 feet. The maximum depth limit for recreational scuba diving is 130 feet.

Nitkewicz secured the log from plaintiff’s dive computer which confirmed their instructor took the plaintiff to a depth of 123 feet.

It was shown that instructor violated dive standards by taking students on a training dive exceeding 60 feet. The maximum depth for the training dive the plaintiff was engaged in is 60 feet.