Diving Injury Attorney

Living in California is ideal for scuba divers, with great places to explore up and down the coast, including over a dozen exceptional dive sites around Catalina. From sea life to experiencing the Suejac wreck, divers will enjoy countless hours of activity, most of which will be without incident or injuries. However, when you suffer an injury while diving, it is essential to seek the help of a Catalina dive injury expert at Kenmore Law Group as soon as you have been examined and treated by a medical professional.

Sadly, it takes just a fraction of a second for something to go terribly wrong when underwater. Even more upsetting is that most of the diving accident injuries in California are due to someone else’s negligence. Scuba diving is a sport that requires extensive training and attention to detail. In addition, you depend on all your gear to keep you safe and alive when diving. So that gear needs to be inspected regularly and maintained in perfect working order. But not every diver has the ability or desire to own everything from regulators and buoyancy compensator devices to air tanks. However, they do know which dive shop rentals are the most reliable. If you have become the victim of a diving injury, contact the Catalina expert diving accident attorneys at Kenmore Law Group to understand your rights and how you can receive the compensation you deserve for your injuries and losses.

Is Diving Really A High-Risk Sport?
Scuba diving appears to be relatively mundane and safe when you examine the numbers. Roughly 1% of the U.S. population are certified divers, making the number well over two million. However, when you look at the fatality rate, there are less than six fatalities per 100,000. That number is significantly lower than other extreme sports coming in at nearly 50 per 100,000 fatalities. These numbers can be attributed to the extensive training and careful care that most divers provide for all their essential gear. But nothing can eliminate all accidents from any activity. And diving accidents in California and the Catalina area result in some very severe injuries with tragedy strikes, including:

• Decompression Sickness – Most people know this malady as the Bends. The common cause of the Bends is surfacing too quickly, either due to an equipment malfunction or lack of training and dive skills. But the result is the same, air bubbles become trapped in the body’s tissue and become excruciatingly painful. In addition, the condition can be fatal if the air bubbles travel through the body to the brain or heart.
• Pulmonary Injuries – One of the first rules a new diver learns is never to hold your breath underwater. As you ascend from deeper water, your body is suddenly under less atmospheric pressure than it was just 10 – 20 feet deeper. That allows the air in your lungs to expand exponentially. If you happen to be holding your breath, that air expansion could damage lung tissue and blood vessels, creating a life-threatening injury.
• Barotrauma – Any injury to soft tissue, such as the ears and sinuses, due to pressure changes is called barotrauma. Failing to equalize the pressure in these soft tissue areas constantly can permanently damage the ear drum and other soft tissue and prevent a diver from ever reentering the water for even a short, shallow dive.

While these are examples of some of the most severe trauma that can result from a California diving accident, many less life-threatening but still severe injuries occur, such as:

• Broken or fractured bones
• Lacerations and puncture wounds
• Head, neck, and back trauma
• Injuries to the soft tissue of joints
• Joint dislocations

On any dive, many people are working behind the scenes to provide the gear, boat, or other transportation and guide service to ensure the safety of all divers. So if you have suffered any of these injuries on a California dive, it is time to speak to the expert dive injury attorneys at Kenmore Law Group.

Who Might Be Liable For Your Catalina Dive Accident Injury?
When working to determine who could be responsible for your dive injury, you quickly see that the list is longer than you expected. However, the pros at Kenmore Law Group have years of expertise in evaluating diving accident injuries to find the root cause and responsible party. Some of the common defendants in dive injury lawsuits include:

• The owner of the dive shop where you rented gear
• The owner of the boat that provided transportation, tanks, or other dive gear
• The manufacturer of any defective dive gear
• Any company responsible for maintaining the dive gear you used, the dive cylinders, or filled the dive tanks
• The boat captain or any of the crew members
• The dive master or any dive guides on the trip
• Other divers in the water with you
• Other boat operators in the area

While this list appears long, the expert diving accident attorneys at Kenmore Law Group will explain the responsibilities or duty of each person or entity and how they failed to meet that duty if they are responsible for your injuries.
What Is A Dive Injury Settlement Worth?
It is vital for any injury victim to understand that there is no set dollar amount for any settlement. Each lawsuit settlement is determined based on information specific to your injuries and losses. The categories that are evaluated include:

• The severity of your injuries and any life-long implications or limitations they introduce
• The cost of all current medical treatment and future care, such as surgeries, therapy, or rehabilitation
• The cost of medical air evacuation from the dive site if needed to receive urgent medical care
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages if you were unable to work during your recovery
• Punitive damages
• Legal expenses

These are the general areas your Kenmore Law Group dive injury attorney will include in your settlement request. However, other items could be included if necessary for your recovery or are expenses you incurred as a direct result of the dive accident injury.

Do I Lose My Right To Sue If I Signed A Waiver?
In most cases, the waiver is a document to verify that you are a certified diver and have the right and ability to dive and use the dive equipment properly. It also states that you assume responsibility for all the inherent risks associated with diving. The other part of the agreement is that the rental company, charter business, or boat service agrees to provide you with functional and safe gear and services. So if one of the persons or entities is found to be grossly negligent in performing their duty to you, you can still sue them in many cases. Your Kenmore Law Group diving accident attorney will help you understand the duties and responsibilities that might fall into this negligence and allow you the right to file a lawsuit.
How Long Does The Lawsuit Process Take?
Much like figuring out the value of a lawsuit, the time needed to complete the process depends on many variables. Factors from the severity of your injuries and the time required to recover to the willingness of the defendant to assume liability will impact the time frame. Your Kenmore Law Group team will work tirelessly to move the process along as rapidly as possible to secure your settlement and allow you to put this upsetting event behind you.
Our Zero Fee Guarantee
After suffering a diving accident injury, you will be dealing with added stress and concerns about your health and finances. The team at Kenmore Law Group never wants to add to the challenges of your situation with legal bills when you should be focusing on your health and healing. To ensure that you get the legal help you need without added expenses that might not be manageable at the moment, we offer a no-fee guarantee. Additionally, we never submit an invoice for our services until we have won the settlement or verdict you deserve. We hope that without the added concern of the cost of legal services, you will be able to focus on your healing and loved ones after this harrowing event. Rest assured that the Kenmore Law Group diving injury attorneys have nothing but your best interest in mind and will fight to secure the compensation you deserve for your injuries and losses.
We Offer Free Second Opinions
If you have been told that you have no grounds for a lawsuit after a diving accident injury in California, please don’t hesitate to contact our office for a free second evaluation of your case. Our expert diving injury attorneys have handled thousands of lawsuits and understand how complex they can be for a less experienced law team. In addition, we pledge to work diligently to protect your rights and secure the settlement owed to you before asking to be paid for our services. Our priority is to provide expert legal representation to injury victims when they need us the most.