Hawaiian diver suffers hearing loss; loses lawsuit

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a lower court verdict in favor of the owner of a Hawaii whale watching vessel after a diver suffered ear damage during a dive.

Christopher MacDonald brought the suit against Kahikolu, Ltd. MacDonald, while working as a lifeguard and deckhand aboard the Frogman II, was also an experienced diver and would sometimes conduct free dives as part of the job.

During a dive down to 46 feet while retrieving a mooring line, MacDonald damaged his left ear while equalizing pressure during the descent.

He also suffered dizziness and permanent hearing loss.

MacDonald sought damages under the so-called "Pennsylvania Rule," which is the standard of Admiralty Law. Under the Pennsylvania Rule, the vessel owner is held liable if a vessel fails to follow regulations aimed at preventing accident or injury.

These regulations generally apply to navigational accidents and collisions.

MacDonald claimed the vessel did not have a required diving operations manual on board.

However, The Court sided with Kahikolu, citing that this requirement only applied to commercial divers-i.e. those wearing scuba gear-and not free divers

Read the case here.