Diver Drowns off Coast of Fort Lauderdale

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on September 11, 2018

Reports emerged at the beginning of September regarding a person who drowned off the coast of Fort Lauderdale after becoming separated from the tour boat with which she was diving. While much of the information regarding the incident is still under investigation, we do know that the accident involved a 21-year-old woman and that she was diving with a company called Sea Experience Inc.

The exact day and time of the incident were not included in preliminary reports, but it is believed that it happened sometime at the very beginning of September. The woman was traveling with Sea Experience, presumably while on vacation, although it does seem possible that she was alone at the time of the incident as her absence from the group when it was preparing to return to land was not noticed until an employee with the company performed a headcount and discovered that a person was missing.

The woman had been part of a group that had taken a boat about a half-mile away from Florida’s mainland and begun scuba diving in the waters found there. It is not known for how long the group was swimming about in the waters, and it is also not clear if the tour company attempted to implement any sort of buddy system wherein all individuals swimming with the company remained within sight of at least one other person at all times.

At some point while they were diving, the woman in question became separated from the group. An investigation is currently underway to discover just how this happened, and at the time of this writing there are more questions relating to the diver’s separation than there are answers.

After the group reconvened at the boat, an employee of Sea Experience conducted the afore-mentioned headcount, discovering to their horror that one of the people who had left the boat had not returned. The tour boat then sent out a distress signal to the U.S. Coast Guard, and soon there were numerous vessels searching for the missing person. The 21-year-old woman was found an unspecified amount of time later. She was floating in the open water and did not respond to rescuers.

She was rushed to shore where CPR was performed, but the efforts of the rescue teams proved futile and she was pronounced dead after being taken to the Broward Health Medical Center.

Sources:

• Diver dies after getting separated from snorkeling group on boat tour

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.