A man who was left in the Pacific Ocean while scuba diving recently was awarded $1.68 million by a Los Angeles County jury. The California man filed a lawsuit against the scuba diving charter company that negligently left him in the ocean approximately 12 miles offshore. The claim revealed that the charter boat left him at the first dive site and then proceeded to a second dive site approximately 7 miles from his location in the water. Fortunately, a passing boat later picked him. This situation, unlike the situation in Open Water, turned out to be a happy ending in that he was ultimately rescued. The man's ordeal lost at sea lasted approximately 3 hours.

In that New Jersey is a shore state bordering the Atlantic Ocean, it would not be far fetched that such an incident could occur in the waters off New Jersey. Clearly, any charter boat or dive company has a duty and obligation to ensure all of the divers it brings out are fully accounted for before returning to shore or moving onward. In this regard, it is incumbent upon such companies to have an accounting system in place as a way to account for those that have gone overboard and under the surface. In our opinion, the failure of a charter company to have such an accounting system would not only constitute negligence but gross negligence which would most likely warrant punitive damages.

If you or members of your family are injured or mistreated by a charter company, diving, boating or otherwise, or left at sea or in the wilderness, it is important to contact an attorney to determine the extent of your rights.