September 2012    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 27, No. 9   What's this?

Anatomy of a Dive Death Investigation

from the September, 2012 issue of Undercurrent  

Subscriber Content Preview
Only active subscribers can view the whole article

We have run many stories about how dive deaths are investigated, both here in the U.S. and in other countries overseas. It's a common lament in this country that we often don't have much public information about deaths to help divers or dive agencies understand the causes -- and how to correct them. This story, which ran in the Caymanian Compass, shows how much information can be provided by a coroner's report -- and how it can change opinions and even court rulings -- on unfortunate dive deaths. In the case of Vickilee Hettenbaugh, her death last year in Grand Cayman was ruled to be a "misadventure" on her part, after a coroner's jury heard details of her dive and the results of her autopsy report....