Filmmaker’s family sues after man lost at sea

Few people in Lake Charles likely ever intend to be negligent to the point of endangering another. However, oftentimes unforeseen circumstances arise that force people into action. Those who happen to be supervising an activity or excursion often accept the responsibility (whether stated or implied) for keeping participants safe. When doing so, they agree to extend equal consideration to all of those involved. If and when an emergency situation does arise, their decision on how to act regarding all participants could mean the different between responsible action and accusations of negligence.

Such accusations are currently being made by the family of a documentary filmmaker who died while on a diving excursion in Florida. The man had been diving near a shipwreck as part of a group. Upon surfacing, panic ensued after another one of the divers lost consciousness after getting back onto the dive boat. In a wrongful death lawsuit recently filed on behalf of the deceased filmmaker, it is alleged that the crew of the boat focused all of their efforts on the unconscious man (who also happened to be the owner of one of the companies sponsoring the dive). No one kept eyes on the man still in the water, and he was eventually lost at sea. His body was found three days later.

In their lawsuit, the family accuses those supervising the dive to have neglected the safety of their loved one in order to tend to another. While such a situation certainly calls for aid to be rendered to one who is stricken, for that to come at the expense of another’s safety could reasonably be viewed by some as negligence. Those seeking to hold parties accountable for such negligence may want to work with an attorney to initiate legal action.

Source: Local10.com “Family of Canadian filmmaker who died during dive files wrongful death lawsuit” Burke, Peter, Mar. 28, 2017