The 2nd District Court of Appeal has reinstated the Long Beach wrongful death complaint filed by the family of Raffi Huverserian against Catalina Scuba Luv. The 45-year-old died on March 31, 2005 one day after he ran out of air while diving with his son, then age 17, off Casino Point in Avalon.
While Huverserian was able to swim some 60 feet back up to the surface by breathing on his son's air tank, the Northridge resident went into cardiac arrest once he got to the beach. Medical personnel were able to revive Huverserian and take him from Avalon to a hospital on the mainland, but doctors were unable to save his life.
In 2007, his family filed a Los Angeles wrongful death lawsuit against Catalina Scuba Luv, which had rented the diving equipment to Huverserian and his son. In July 2008, a Long Beach Superior Court judge granted the defendant's motion for judgment, but the family appealed.
Prior to the dive, Huverserian signed a document releasing renters from the right to sue the scuba rental company for injury or death. The document was titled: "Equipment rental agreement, liability release and assumption of risk of scuba and snorkel gear for boat dives or multiple day rentals."
While Catalina Scuba has maintained that the release applies to all scuba gear renters, Huverserian's loved ones and now the appellate justices say that the passage is not applicable to him because he didn't rent scuba equipment for multiple days or dive off a boat. Also, according to the family's Long Beach wrongful death lawyer, Catalina Scuba Luv gave Huverserian a gauge that ran high, a tank that wasn't filled with enough air, as well as too much weight for the dive.
Appeals court reinstates family's lawsuit in scuba diver's death, DailyBreeze, May 27, 2010
California court tosses waiver, family can sue Catalina Scuba Luv for diver death, CDNN INFO, May 28, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Catalina Scuba Luv
Scuba Diving Safety
Loved ones usually have two years to file their Orange County, California wrongful death lawsuit. It won't bring your family member back, but it will give you a chance to hold the responsible party or parties liable and help assuage some of your resulting costs and losses if you recover.
