Houma Diving Accident Attorneys

Common Causes of Diving Accidents

Most diving accidents are not random. They happen because someone failed to follow safety standards or properly maintain vital systems. 

Among the most common causes are:

• Equipment Malfunctions: Faulty regulators, valves, or communication systems can cut off a diver’s air supply or trap them underwater.
• Improper Supervision or Planning: Dive supervisors are responsible for ensuring safe conditions and clear communication. Inadequate planning or oversight can lead to tragedy.
• Inadequate Decompression Procedures: Rushing a diver to the surface or ignoring decompression schedules can result in severe injury or death.
• Poor Maintenance: Defective hoses, umbilicals, and helmets can fail under pressure if not properly inspected.
• Unsafe Working Conditions: Low visibility, contaminated water, or strong currents increase the risk of accidents.
• Negligent Vessel or Platform Operations: Sudden vessel movement, poor communication, or lack of emergency preparedness can endanger divers in the water.

In many cases, these incidents stem from management decisions, such as employers cutting corners to save time or money or failing to properly train and equip their crews. If you believe your or your loved one’s diving accident was the result of negligence, our firm can help you seek justice and fair financial compensation. 

Common Diving Injuries

Because of the extreme conditions involved, diving injuries are often catastrophic. 

Some of the most serious include:

• Decompression Sickness (“The Bends”): Caused by a rapid ascent, this condition can lead to joint pain, paralysis, or death.
• Arterial Gas Embolism: Air bubbles in the bloodstream can block circulation and cause severe brain damage.
• Barotrauma: Pressure changes can rupture eardrums, lungs, or sinuses.
• Drowning or Near-Drowning: Equipment failure or entanglement can prevent divers from surfacing in time.
• Hypothermia: Prolonged exposure to cold water can lead to loss of consciousness or death.
• Traumatic Injuries: Divers may be struck by falling objects, caught in machinery, or injured during underwater construction work.
• Neurological Damage: Lack of oxygen (hypoxia) can cause permanent brain injury.

These injuries often require extensive medical care, long recovery periods, and lifelong rehabilitation.

What Laws Protect Commercial Divers?

Commercial divers may be covered by several maritime laws. These laws provide rights and remedies when a commercial diver is injured offshore. 

Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you may be entitled to protection under:

• The Jones Act: Provides injured seamen (including divers working from vessels) the right to sue their employers for negligence
• The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA): Covers maritime workers who aren’t classified as seamen but are still involved in offshore operations
• General Maritime Law: Guarantees all seamen “maintenance and cure,” or basic living expenses and medical treatment until they reach maximum recovery.

Determining which law applies to your case is complex and depends on where the accident occurred, what type of work was being performed, and your employment status. Our diving accident attorneys in Houma can help you navigate this process.

How Our Firm Helps Injured Divers

At Waitz & Downer, we have decades of experience representing injured offshore workers, including commercial divers. We understand the technical nature of diving operations and work closely with experts to uncover what went wrong, as well as who is responsible.

When we take a diving accident case, we can: 

• Investigate the dive plan, supervision, and safety compliance
• Examine maintenance records and equipment condition
• Consult diving medicine and engineering experts to prove negligence
• Handle all communication with your employer and insurers
• Pursue full compensation for your medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future care needs

We don’t settle for what’s easy or quick. We fight for what’s right because your life, your health, and your family’s future deserve nothing less.