A jury has rejected the $25 million compensation claim of the widow of US diver Wes Skiles against the Florida-based manufacturer of the rebreather he was using when he drowned in 2010.
Lawyers for Terri Skiles had claimed that the manufacturer, Lamartek, was culpable because it had failed to carry out appropriate safety tests on the Dive Rite O2ptima FX closed-circuit rebreather either before or after the incident.
However, after four hours of deliberation on the final day of the hearing, the jurors at Palm Beach County Circuit Court found Lamartek not guilty of wrongdoing and that the equipment had not been dangerous, according to a report in the Palm Beach Post.
Skiles, 53, died in an incident off the city of Boynton Beach in July, 2010. The court had heard that the well-known underwater photographer and film-maker, a veteran of more than 7000 dives, had been photographing goliath grouper at the time.
He became unconscious on an ascent from 25m and lost his rebreather mouthpiece. His death had been declared an accidental drowning at the time.
In closing arguments, Terri Skiles’ lawyer Robert Spohrer said that Lamar Hires, the owner of Lamartek, had failed to test the rebreather even after the incident, instead blaming the death on human error. He pointed out that Skiles had been skilful enough to dive under icebergs in Antarctica, and for Titanic director James Cameron to hire him to test an experimental underwater 3D video camera.
Responding for Lamartek, David Concannon described Skiles as “a gifted cinematographer but he didn’t take care of his own safety. He took his own life through his mistakes”.
There was no evidence that the rebreather had malfunctioned, said Concannon, who claimed that Skiles was not certified to use the rebreather and had been diving solo. He had failed to follow basic safety procedures, he said, and had ascended too quickly.
21-May-16
