Scuba diving accidents are unfortunate but preventable. You can learn lessons from them, take preventive measures to prevent them, and get compensated if you are involved in one. Learn more about how to prevent dive accidents and how to recover from them. After years of diving, many people have heard of those who were unable to swim or were injured in an accident.
Lessons from scuba divers' mistakes
Recent DAN reports revealed that environmental factors played a major role in the number of scuba diving accident. These factors included rapid changes in visibility that could trap divers or deprive them of air, problems with regulators, and malfunctioning rebreather devices. Divers without the right experience or fitness can also be exposed to dangers from shifting currents.
A diver must learn that they should never hold their breath underwater. Breathing can help calm nerves, improve concentration, and connect the diver to his/her body. Regular practice of your breathing techniques can help you avoid common diving injuries. In addition, it's essential to learn how to share air and recover your primary regulator. This will increase your chances to survive a dive.
Unskilled and incorrect equipment use are the two main causes of diving injuries. These issues are usually caused by improper use of air and cylinder valves. If you experience these problems, it is best to either reconsider your dive or cancel it entirely.
Prevention measures
Although diving is quite safe, it's important to be prepared and follow the instruction. A few simple steps can prevent small problems from becoming major problems and result in an accident. Training and the proper equipment will make sure you do not suffer from a decompression injury, or a life-threatening emergency.
Divers must make sure that the valve on their tanks is open before they dive. Divers should check the valve on their air tanks before diving. A partially closed valve can stop air flow to regulators, which could cause an accident. To prevent this, the diver should slowly open and close the valve until it stops. This will prevent overpressure from causing death. In addition, it can help avoid respiratory complications such as anoxia and gas narcosis.
Also, it is important to think about the environment in which your dive will take place. Turbid water can pull diver's equipment or fins out of the water. In addition, strong underwater currents can separate a diver from the boat cover. They may be stranded underwater. In poor visibility, they may not be seen by the boat crew. Yellow flags are also a good idea for divers to use to draw attention to them. To signal their presence to others on shore, divers can use an EPIRB (personal submersible emergency oxygen radio) or a vhf radio.
Compensation for accident victims
Compensation may be available if you have been in an accident that involved diving. You can get compensation depending on what type of accident occurred and how severe your injuries were. If you were injured while diving on a commercial ship, you could be eligible for compensation. To learn more about what compensation you may be eligible for, consult an experienced attorney.
The captain of the boat might be liable if you were hurt in a diving boat accident. If the captain was drinking alcohol or negligent, you may be able to sue him or her. If the boat is defective, you might also be entitled for compensation if your dive accident results in you being hurt.