How To Select A Diving Contractor
About Diving
Diving is a complex and dangerous undertaking and is only further complicated by an equally complex set of regulatory standards.
It is also an intrinsically dangerous task.
Selecting an appropriate and qualified contractor can be a challenging undertaking.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and CDC reveal that commercial divers have a higher fatality rate and a higher injury rate than average U.S. workers.
A report from Diver’s Alert Network shows that SCUBA related fatalities were higher than average U.S. workers.
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Questions To Ask
Do you meet OSHA standards of commercial diving and do you abide by ADCI standards?
Do you meet all 6 criteria to warrant the scientific diving exemption allowable by OSHA?
If conducting surface supplied diving operations, who is qualified to operate and maintain that specific equipment or train and supervise personnel in that endeavor?
If conducting scientific diving, what are the credentials of the Dive Control Board (DCB) members?
Can you provide records of maintenance and calibration of all life support diving equipment?
Additional Information
NAUI, PADI, and YMCA SCUBA certifications are not acceptable for commercial diving applications and provide no guidance or qualification for conducting surface supplied diving.
Numerous courts have upheld the standard of “inherently dangerous� regarding primary contractor liability. This is a much broader definition under the second and third editions of the Restatement of Torts. It is highly likely that a court would find that diving is “inherently dangerous�.
A ruling of a Non-Delegable Duty by a court could mean that despite contract language, the primary contractor would be held liable for a diving subcontractor’s negligence.
Commercial Divers have repeatedly been ruled to meet the standard of “seamen� under the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (aka Jones Act). This empowers divers or their survivors to civilly sue responsible parties for damages caused by injury or death.
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