The Law Offices of David G. Concannon, LLC represents a variety of clients in the sports and recreation industries, from equipment manufacturers, training agencies and adventure travel companies, to international expeditions. The firm is often retained to investigate and defend wrongful death cases, usually after a person dies while engaged in some type of dangerous activity. Many of these cases involve scuba diving accidents.
The firm is often retained within days of the accident occurring, and each accident is thoroughly investigated with the expectation that it will someday result in a lawsuit (although most do not). We find that obtaining all the facts as soon as possible is the best way to avoid and/or win future litigation.
Here is a sample of the results we have achieved in past cases that did result in litigation:
Case No. 1
A scuba diver loses his life while wreck diving off the coast of New Jersey. The diver's family brought suit in New Jersey state court, alleging claims for wrongful death, negligence and other torts. The firm was retained to represent the dive shop that chartered the vessel used for the day of diving.
Our investigation showed that the deceased diver was engaged in diving far beyond his experience level and training; he was unfamiliar with his equipment configuration, which he recently purchased off the Internet; and his death most likely resulted from an uncontrolled ascent due to diver error. When our findings were presented to the plaintiff's attoney, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed her case against the firm's client.
Case No. 2
A scuba diver loses his life while diving on the wreck of the Andrea Doria in the Atlantic Ocean. The diver's family brought suit in New Jersey state court, alleging claims for wrongful death, negligence and other torts. The firm was retained to represent the dive boat and its captain after they had defaulted in the case. We succeeded in having the default reopened.
Our investigation showed that the deceased diver most likely died of a heart attack. Additionally, the deceased signed a liability waiver that was initialed at every pargraph and witnessed by the deceased's personal attorney. The case settled for a nominal amount.
Case No. 3
The widow of a scuba diver that died while engaged in a PADI Advanced Open Water scuba diving brought suit against a scuba diving instructor and dive shop in Illinois state court, alleging claims for wrongful death and negligence. The firm was retained to represent the scuba diving instructor.
The firm initially won a dismissal of the case after the court enforced the PADI Assumption of Risk and Liability Release Agreement signed by the diver. The plaintiff subsequently refiled the lawsuit, alleging a claim for gross negligence. The plaintiff alleged that the instructor acted with reckless indifference to the rights of the deceased diver because he drowned in the instructor's presence. However, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case after the firm's medical expert demonstrated that the Coroner incorrectly attributed the cause of death to drowning, when in fact the deceased diver suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack.
Case No. 4
The widow of a diver that died while teaching a semi-closed rebreather course filed suit against multiple defendants alleging that her husband died because the closed-circuit rebreather he was wearing malfunctioned, and the deceased received faulty instruction in the use of his rebreather. The firm was retained to defend 11 of the original 14 defendants.
Our investigation revealed that the deceased diver had heavily modified his rebreather, he failed to follow his training and the manufacturer's instructions, and the plaintiff's allegedly faulty instruction was actually designed by the plaintiff's expert, David Crockford, and not the actual parties sued. The firm obtained a dismissal of the plaintiff's claims against all but one of the firm's clients. The plaintiff's remaining claims were tried over a two week period before a federal court jury, which returned a defense verdict in less than one hour.
Law Offices of David G. Concannon, LLC, 200 Eagle Road, Suite 116, Wayne, Pennsylvania 19087 Phone: (610) 293-8084 - Fax: (610) 293-8086 info@davidconcannon.com