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Learn More >>Commercial Diving Accidents
Diving is a dangerous profession. Divers rely on boat captains, dive supervisors, safety officers, and other maritime workers to ensure their safety while diving. The slightest mistake can cause serious injuries or death. There are many causes of commercial diving injuries, including faulty equipment, differential pressure, incorrect air/gas mixture, improperly maintained equipment, inadequate training, inadequate supervision and unsafe dive conditions above or below the water. Commercial diving accidents can often become tragic, resulting in the death of the diver.
The most dangerous risk a diver faces is decompression sickness, which occurs when a diver returns to the surface too quickly. While diving, pressure underwater causes nitrogen to dissolve in the body, creating nitrogen bubbles in the diver's blood stream. This can cause serious medical problems, including brain injuries, paralysis, blindness, and death.
To ensure the safety of commercial diving employees, companies are required to follow standard policies, procedures, and U.S. Coast Guard regulations. Many times, however, your commercial diving employer will fail to follow the required and safe procedures and put your safety in jeopardy. Most commercial divers are eligible for Jones Act claims in addition to the benefits provided under the Longshore & Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
Our commercial diving accidents attorneys have represented divers, tenders and family members dealing with the tragic consequences of diving injuries and fatalities. We have expert knowledge of dive procedures and related OSHA safety guidelines. Furthermore, we have handled maritime and admiralty law claims around the world for over 45 years, and can help you determine whether a diving accident should be pursued as a negligence claim or as a Jones Act claim. We are familiar offshore construction, underwater teardown, and deconstruction, pipeline maintenance and/or pipeline shutdown, seabed well work, and any other type of dive boat activity you may have been engaged in or hired to do at the time of your commercial diving accident.
Contact our Commercial Diving Accidents Lawyers
If you or a member of your family has been injured or killed in a diving accident, please contact the maritime attorneys of Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. today.
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