In May 2005, Timothy Hogan was making his second
dive at 122 feet off Tampa Bay when his vision went blurry.
He ignored the symptoms when he looked at his dive computer
and saw he had seven minutes to surface safely. Hogan
had speared a seven-pound mangrove snapper that he wanted
to reel in. So he stayed where he was, despite the flashes
of light he saw when he blinked.
Big mistake. Hogan’s symptoms worsened back on the
boat, as tingling in his toes rose into his legs. The boat captain
called Divers Alert Network’s emergency hotline and a
Coast Guard rescue helicopter was dispatched. But Hogan
didn’t reach the hospital until five hours later and despite
11 treatments in a hyperbaric chamber, he is now paralyzed
from the waist down. Doctors say too much pressure on his
lungs caused a gas embolism in his arteries, damaging his
spinal cord beyond repair.
Last March, Hogan filed a civil lawsuit against DAN and
the Coast Guard, stating they mismanaged his rescue by leaving
him waiting while he lost all feeling in his legs. His lawsuit
stated that while the Coast Guard is not required to rescue
divers, “when it does so voluntarily, it assumes the duty
to perform such rescues with reasonable skill.” Hogan also
says he would have avoided injury if the helicopter had not
gotten lost on the way to his boat, and the time lapse caused
his paralysis. DAN decided to settle, and its official statement
is: “Divers Alert Network made no admission of negligence,
liability or fault in this case. Mr. Hogan agreed to respond to inquiries that DAN responded promptly and appropriately to
his emergency request for medical assistance.”
Other injured divers have tried to sue the Coast Guard
without luck, and Federal law does not require the agency to
rescue scuba divers. In 2004, another disabled Florida diver
sued the Coast Guard, contending he could have avoided
injury if it had provided him with emergency care on its
rescue boat. The Coast Guard argued that under federal law
it has broad discretion to decide if and how it provides emergency
help to divers. Florida’s Federal district court ruled
for the Coast Guard and despite the diver’s appeals, the
Supreme Court refused to hear the case.
But a month before trial, the Coast Guard agreed to
mediation and settled with Hogan for a confidential sum.
“Divers do indeed have recourse against the government if
it fails to use reasonable care in a rescue,” Hogan’s attorney
Matthew Mudano told Undercurrent.“Although there are certain
restrictions on suits against the United States, it is held
to a standard of reasonable conduct just like a private entity.”
But he cautioned that divers need to be prepared for a
long, expensive battle. “Most cases against the government
are expensive and time consuming. Unless the injury is
severe, it may not be economically feasible to pursue the case.
In Mr. Hogan’s case, he is completely disabled, and will face
a lifetime of debt and medical bills.”