A 12-Year-Old's Diving Death Brings a Lawsuit

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A wrongful death lawsuit by the family of Dylan Harrison, the Texas 12-year-old who died during an entry-level NAUI scuba course, severely challenges PADI's and NAUI's certification process in so many ways that it could upend the industry. That is, if it doesn't get settled first. And you can bet it will.

Dylan died at The Scuba Ranch Lake, near Terrell, Texas, last August. The defendants are NAUI and PADI, together with ScubaToys Enterprises (who operated the course), The Scuba Ranch (A PADI facility), where the course was taught, ScubaToys owner, Joe Johnson, NAUI dive instructor William Armstrong, divemaster Jonathon Roussel, and dive center staff member and NAUI Course Director Gregory Knauer. The suit alleges they are all linked to the fatal accident.

Dylan's instructor, Armstrong, is alleged to have been sleep-deprived, having worked 24 hours straight before the incident. Divemaster Jonathan Roussel, who was said to have promised not to take his eyes off Dylan while she was underwater, days later claimed to have lost his own dive computer when asked to produce it....

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