For some people, securing the training necessary to use self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba) gear or diving equipment is part of the prep work for a dream vacation. For others, it is a pathway toward a challenging and rewarding profession.
Professional divers can earn competitive wages doing recovery work, leading tours and otherwise providing underwater maritime services for a business. Unfortunately, the job is also fraught with personal risk. These are the top ways that businesses expose divers to risk on the job.
Providing cheap or poorly-maintained equipment
When working in an underwater environment, the condition of the scuba gear a diver has will make all the difference for their overall safety and the success of the dive. Bad equipment can cause a host of issues, including accidental drownings. More often, equipment failures will force divers to resurface rapidly, causing decompression sickness.
Demanding work on dangerous days
There are numerous factors that can make it more dangerous to dive. Low visibility caused by recent storms, active storms, heavy surf and unusually heavy boat traffic are all factors that could make a dive a particularly risky endeavor on a specific day. Businesses that make money from tourists or the collection of resources may not want to lose out on lucrative contracts and might demand that their divers come to work even when conditions are suboptimal.
Taking on dangerous clients
Especially if someone works with tourists or those new to diving, adequate training and appropriate safety rules for clients are of the utmost importance for their safety and the safety of the workers helping them. Professionals may end up hurt while dealing with unruly or disappointed individuals who become aggressive. They could also end up injured or worse if they have to intervene to save someone who did not have proper training previously or who did not follow instructions.
Unlike those hurt in terrestrial professions, divers have to file complicated claims because of their offshore location at the time of their injuries. Discussing the situation that led to a diver’s injuries with a lawyer could help someone recently hurt on a diving job or grieving the loss of a loved one determine if there are grounds for a claim.