Trainer failed to identify fatal risk

Jan Karon, 54, died after getting into difficulty during a dive to a depth of some 30m off Dorset with instructor Ian Johnson of Subaquaholics.

Karon, who was overweight, suffered from high blood pressure, a high cholesterol count and a circulatory disorder.

He would not have been allowed to dive had his ailments been documented in usual pre-dive registration material, including the results of a medical to establish whether a prospective customer is fit enough to dive.

At Karon’s inquest in 2010, the coroner recorded an open verdict but noted that the diver’s coronary condition was such that he could have ‘dropped dead at any minute’.

In a civil action brought by the Health and Safety Executive, Bristol Crown Court found that Subaquaholics was unable to present the appropriate pre-dive documentation, nor had carried out a suitable risk assessment for the dive.

Pleading guilty to a breach of Health and Safety regulations, Subaquaholics was fined £10,000 and Johnson, the company’s director, a further £5,000.

Additionally Subaquaholics was ordered to pay £20,000 of a £100,000 prosecution bill, the contribution being capped on account of Johnson’s pressed financial circumstances commercially and personally.  

The company’s PADI training licence has been withdrawn.

In mitigation, Johnson was described as an experienced instructor who was highly remorseful about what had occurred.

After the hearing, HSE diving specialist Richard Martins acknowledged it was “very important students are aware of their potential limitations".

Ultimately, however, trainers need to “ensure their students are fit to carry out what is a relatively high-risk, strenuous activity”.