Fort Lauderdale Injury Lawyer Blog

BSO and the Coast Guard are examining the death of a 53 year old physician who was scuba diving from a commercial dive boat off Hillsboro Beach, Florida, after he became ill at sea.

BSO's Marine Unit heard a radio report of a diver experiencing difficulty. The BSO boat met the dive vessel and transported the man to shore where paramedics took him to a nearby hospital in Fort Lauderdale. A short while later the man was pronounced dead.

In South Florida, scuba diving accidents are not uncommon, frequently resulting in death. Commercial dive boats are required to be inspected and certified on a regular basis. Dive boat operators need to be vigilant because of the number of scuba divers they are escorting and possibility that their divers could get into difficulty. Dive boat operators need to conducted counts of divers before and after the dives. The operators also need to be extremely alert during the dive and to constantly scan the horizon for distressed divers.

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You are probably wondering what this blog has to do with personal injuries and wrongful death and the answer is: not much. I just thought it was interesting

Koral Wira, 14, was fishing with her family for barracuda and shark in the Gulf of Mexico about four miles outside the Venice Inlet on the west coast of Florida. After a 4 foot barracuda bit into the bait, it jumped from the water and landed inside the boat. The barracuda locked onto the girl's arm and with its sharp teeth shredded her flesh. The wound took 51 inches to close. The girl's father reacted quickly and stabbed the barracuda with a knife in between its eyes. While extensive, her injuries were not life-threatening.

If you own a boat, this interesting but terrible case underscores the need to have liability insurance on the boat as well as health insurance that will cover yourself and family. All sorts of unexpected events can occur while you are out in the ocean which can result in injuries and potentially liability to the owner. While this barracuda attack is a freak event, it is not uncommon for people to be injured as a result of mechanical difficulties or operational errors.

Continue reading "Florida Girl in boat attacked by Giant Barracuda" »