Analysis of a ...
Diving Accident
... A Case of Decompression Sickness?
By Steven M. Barsky
In the world of commercial diving, there are numerous types of diving accidents that can occur all too easily, especially if a diving contractor or diver becomes careless. However, in a mature industry such as ours, in most cases we know the pitfalls and how to avoid becoming a statistic. As a company, or as a diver, if you follow the ADCI Standards, the chances of experiencing an accident are greatly reduced. As an expert witness who works on diving accident cases, I frequently have the opportunity to see the end result of what occurs when somebody makes a mistake or fails to follow the correct procedures in a diving operation. Rarely is a case completely black or white; in most situations, it's a combination of errors that end up causing a diver to be hurt or killed. The following case is based on a combination of several different diving accidents in which I was involved as an expert witness. The conditions and circumstances have been changed to protect the identities of the divers and companies concerned.
Replacing Anodes on a Platform
A commercial diving company was called out to install replacement anodes on a shallow water platform during the month of January at a remote location offshore. The diving equipment had been previously installed on the rig, and most of the job had been completed, but due to sea conditions, the crew had been sent back to shore by the customer, rather than having them standby during a prolonged period of bad weather. After a week's delay, the crew was called back out to the
42 MTR
rig to complete the job. They flew out in a chopper to the rig at first light and began to set up the work so that they could get a diver in the water as quickly as possible. Although sea conditions were still slightly rough, the maximum combined seas did not exceed five feet. By the time the first diver entered the water, it was just before noon. The crew was composed of six divers. Prior to the dive, the diver met with the diving supervisor to get his briefing on the work, and the crew reviewed the job hazard analysis. The diver indicated that he was prepared to make the dive and expressed no hesitancy about the sea conditions, the diving system, the crew, or his personal state of fitness. With the platform standing in a 100 feet of water, there was still a definite surge at a depth of 30 feet where the diver would be working. The surge pushed the diver back and forth enough that he had to "hog" himself in to the structure. The diver's job was to remove the remnants of the old anodes in preparation for the installation of the new ones. Throughout the dive, the supervisor was in constant communications with the diver and was able to watch his work via the helmet-mounted camera that the diver was wearing. At no time during the dive did the diver complain of any physical discomfort. After a dive that lasted just under three hours, well inside the no-decompression limits, the supervisor brought the diver to the surface to change out divers. With no stage to hoist the diver out of the water, the diver had to climb a ladder back up to the railing that surMay 2009
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