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The Investigation of SCUBA Diving Fatalities

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Drowning
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Abstract

Diving using compressed air, or a similar breathing gas, and self-contained underwater breathing apparatus equipment (SCUBA) is a popular pastime throughout the world. Recreational diving fatalities include most types of diving for personal pleasure and without remuneration. This also includes diving for personal game collection such as spearfishing and abalone and lobster collecting. Fortunately, fatalities related to recreational diving are infrequent. In the United States there is an average of 90 recreational diving fatalities each year [1]. These deaths, however, are often catastrophic events that involve young individuals (many lost years of productive life) and in the majority of cases are totally preventable. They are also frequently litigated. It is extremely important to thoroughly investigate recreational diving fatalities and use the case reports as lessons learned with the hope of reducing the number of diving-related deaths in the future. That is exactly the role played by the Divers Alert Network (DAN).

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Correspondence to Jim Caruso .

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Caruso, J. (2014). The Investigation of SCUBA Diving Fatalities. In: Bierens, J. (eds) Drowning. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04253-9_175

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04253-9_175

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-04252-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-04253-9

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