Diving and Snorkeling Boat Accident Claims

When a Diving or Snorkeling Trip Becomes Dangerous

A boat often serves as the connection between divers or snorkelers and locations that cannot easily be reached from shore.

Passengers rely on the captain and crew to transport them safely, choose an appropriate location, explain procedures, monitor conditions, and keep the vessel away from people in the water.

When those precautions break down, serious injuries can occur.

A diver may surface near a moving propeller. A snorkeler may be struck by the tour boat. Someone may fall while entering or climbing back aboard the vessel. A captain may move the boat before confirming that every participant has returned.

These accidents can involve dangers both above and below the surface, making careful vessel operation and communication especially important.

Common Diving and Snorkeling Boat Accidents

Dive and snorkeling boats operate in an environment where passengers regularly move between a vessel and open water. Potential accidents may include:

• Propeller strikes
• Divers or snorkelers being struck by a vessel
• Falls while boarding or leaving the boat
• Slips and falls on wet decks
• Collisions with another vessel
• Unsafe entries into the water
• Ladder accidents
• Injuries caused by sudden vessel movement
• Equipment failures
• Accidents during rough seas or dangerous weather
• Divers or snorkelers being left behind
• Injuries during emergency evacuations

Some accidents happen during the activity itself, while others occur before a person ever enters the water or while returning to the vessel afterward.

Propeller and Vessel Strike Injuries

Propellers can present a particularly serious danger to divers and snorkelers.

People in the water may be difficult for a vessel operator to see because of waves, glare, weather, distance, or surrounding boat traffic. Divers may also surface unexpectedly after spending significant time underwater.

For those reasons, vessel operators need to remain alert for people in the water and take appropriate precautions before moving or starting the boat.

Divers Alert Network (DAN) recommends that boat operators confirm nobody is swimming or diving near or beneath a vessel before starting it and that engines be off and propellers stopped during boarding and disembarking.

A propeller strike can cause severe lacerations, blood loss, broken bones, amputations, traumatic injuries, or death. Even when the propeller does not make contact, a diver or snorkeler struck by the hull of a moving vessel may suffer serious injuries.

Diver-Down Flags and Surface Markers

Divers may use diver-down flags, surface marker buoys, and other signaling devices to alert nearby boaters that people are in the water.

These signals can help vessel operators recognize a dive area and maintain an appropriate distance.

However, requirements involving diver-down flags and vessel distances can vary depending on where the activity takes place. Operators and participants may therefore need to understand the rules that apply to the particular waterway.

Flags and markers also do not eliminate the need for careful observation.

Visibility can be affected by waves, glare, weather, vessel traffic, and other conditions. Boat operators should not assume that every diver will always be easy to see, and divers should not assume that every nearby operator has seen them.

Safe Entry and Reboarding

Entering and leaving the water can create its own set of hazards.

Divers may be carrying tanks, weights, fins, buoyancy equipment, and other gear that affects balance and movement. Snorkelers may need to climb ladders while the vessel moves with the waves.

Unsafe ladders, slippery decks, sudden vessel movement, inadequate handholds, or poor assistance from crew members can contribute to falls and other injuries.

Depending on the circumstances, safe procedures may include shutting down propulsion systems, securing equipment, providing appropriate ladders or platforms, and coordinating entries and exits so passengers are not placed near moving machinery

Crew members may also need to account for passengers who are tired, injured, or struggling to return to the vessel after spending time in the water.

Failure to Monitor Divers and Snorkelers

Dive and snorkeling operators may transport groups of people who enter the water at approximately the same time and later return to the boat individually or in smaller groups.

That makes keeping track of participants especially important.

A failure to accurately count passengers before leaving a dive site can potentially result in someone being left behind in open water. An investigation into such an incident may examine:

• Passenger and diver rosters
• Head-count procedures
• Buddy systems
• Crew assignments
• Dive plans
• Entry and exit records
• Communications between crew members
• Procedures for confirming that everyone returned to the vessel

Being left at sea can expose someone to exhaustion, dehydration, changing weather, strong currents, marine traffic, and prolonged immersion while waiting to be located.

Weather, Currents, and Water Conditions

Conditions that appear manageable from aboard a boat can become much more dangerous for someone in the water.

Strong currents may separate divers from the vessel or planned surfacing point. Large waves can make reboarding difficult. Poor visibility can make it harder for a captain to locate swimmers or divers. A dive or snorkeling operator may need to consider factors such as:

• Weather forecasts
• Wave conditions
• Currents
• Visibility
• Water temperature
• Boat traffic
• Distance from shore
• Experience level of participants
• Available emergency resources

Not every change in weather or water conditions can be predicted. However, an investigation may consider whether the operator reasonably assessed known or developing conditions before continuing with an excursion.

Responsibility for a Diving or Snorkeling Boat Accident

Determining responsibility often requires examining both the operation of the vessel and the management of the diving or snorkeling activity. Potentially responsible parties may include:

• The boat captain or operator
• The vessel owner
• A dive company
• A snorkeling tour operator
• A charter company
• A cruise line
• A resort
• An equipment rental company
• A maintenance provider
• A manufacturer of defective equipment

Multiple parties may potentially share responsibility.

For example, a captain may move a vessel before confirming that divers are clear of the propeller while a tour company simultaneously failed to establish adequate procedures for tracking people in the water.

The specific relationships between the companies involved can become especially important when an excursion was booked through a cruise line, resort, travel company, or another business.

Diving and Snorkeling Equipment Failures

Not every injury associated with a dive boat is caused by the vessel itself. Participants may rely on equipment supplied by the operator, including:

• Scuba tanks
• Regulators
• Buoyancy compensators
• Masks and snorkels
• Fins
• Weight systems
• Life jackets
• Surface marker buoys
• Emergency oxygen equipment
• Ladders and boarding equipment

If equipment is defective, poorly maintained, incorrectly assembled, or inappropriate for its intended use, the resulting failure may contribute to a serious accident.

Depending on what happened, responsibility could involve the tour operator, equipment provider, maintenance company, manufacturer, or another business.

Evidence After a Diving or Snorkeling Boat Accident

Marine accident evidence can disappear quickly, particularly when the trip occurred while someone was traveling away from home. Potentially useful evidence may include:

• Photographs and videos
• Witness contact information
• Vessel surveillance footage
• GPS and navigation information
• Boat and passenger logs
• Dive rosters
• Dive plans
• Crew records
• Equipment involved in the accident
• Equipment maintenance and inspection records
• Weather and water conditions
• Vessel maintenance records
• Incident reports
• Coast Guard or local authority reports
• Booking confirmations and excursion descriptions
• Liability waivers
• Medical records
• Communications with the operator

Divers Alert Network maintains a diving incident reporting system that includes diving injuries, near misses, equipment failures, and boating-related incidents, illustrating the range of circumstances that can contribute to dive accidents.

Preserving the equipment involved in an accident may also be particularly important if a mechanical or product defect is suspected.

What if I Signed a Liability Waiver?

Dive and snorkeling operators often require participants to sign liability waivers before an excursion. Signing a waiver does not necessarily prevent every potential injury claim.

Whether a waiver affects someone's legal rights can depend on its language, how the accident happened, where the incident occurred, which law applies, and other circumstances.

Maritime excursions may also involve passenger contracts or agreements with cruise lines, resorts, or other companies.

Keeping copies of any waivers, tickets, excursion agreements, and booking documents can help an attorney evaluate what provisions may apply.

Compensation After a Diving or Snorkeling Boat Accident

Diving and snorkeling boat accidents can cause propeller wounds, broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, drowning-related injuries, and other serious harm. Depending on the circumstances, an injured person may be able to pursue compensation for losses such as:

• Medical expenses
• Future medical treatment
• Lost income
• Reduced earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Rehabilitation expenses
• Disability
• Other accident-related losses

Fatal accidents may also give eligible family members or the person's estate grounds to pursue a wrongful death claim depending on the circumstances and applicable law.

Morgan & Morgan May Be Able to Help

A diving or snorkeling boat accident may involve questions about vessel operation, passenger supervision, water conditions, equipment, safety procedures, and the companies responsible for organizing the excursion.

Morgan & Morgan's maritime accident attorneys can investigate what happened, preserve important evidence, identify potentially responsible parties, and fight for the compensation you may deserve.

Contact Morgan & Morgan for a free, no-obligation case evaluation. With The Fee is Free®, you pay nothing unless we win your case.