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| Title: | THE ROLE OF TECHNICAL INPUT IN THE INVESTIGATION OF FATAL DIVING ACCIDENTS |
| Authors: | Calder, IM |
| Keywords: | human
fatality
ACCIDENT |
| Issue Date: | 1997 |
| Abstract: | BACKGROUND: Many fatal diving accidents are marked by the end stages of complex physiological changes. These may be further compounded by therapeutic intervention. The use of a multi-disciplinary team may allow an easier solution of a complicated equation. METHODS: A review of 127 professional and amateur fatal diving accidents has shown that 17 were able to be moved from a speculative to a certain cause of death. The fact of drowning in an experienced, trained and disciplined diver suggests more than a simple explanation, especially when human factors have been eliminated. Most biochemical parameters after death are of little value, and may be actively misleading. However, toxicology per se must be regarded as an important component. The time sequence in fatal diving accidents rarely allows histological changes to take place, and at the best morphological changes may be modified by gas artifact. In broad terms the cause of death (other than by trauma by gas) may simply be resolved into a spectrum of anoxia/asphyxia/drowning or hypothermia. It is at this stage that technical input can be of value, and various scenarios evolve. RESULTS: A multi-disciplinary approach has resulted whereby 17 cases which on initial approach could not be explained were resolved with credible scientific explanation. CONCLUSION: In fatal diving accidents it has to be recognized this is not only the medical experts, but a team of technicians, engineers and scientists who are able to reach a logical and perhaps more importantly a legally defensible position. |
| Description: | Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc. (http://www.uhms.org ) |
| URI: | http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/353 |
| Appears in Collections: | Undesignated Accident and Fatality Reports
UHMS Meeting Abstracts
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