Hambrook v. Smith, Civ. No. 14-00132 ACK-KJM
| Decision Date | 17 August 2016 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 14-00132 ACK-KJM |
| Parties | SANDRA LEE HAMBROOK, individually, as Personal Representative of the Estate of William Joseph Savage, deceased, and as Personal Representative for the benefit of Chelsea Savage and Nicolas Savage, Plaintiff, v. JAY J. SMITH; DENNIS A. McCREA; HAWAIIAN SCUBA SHACK S-22840; PADI AMERICAS, INC. and PADI WORLDWIDE CORPORATION, both dba Professional Association of Diving Instructors, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Hawaii |
SANDRA LEE HAMBROOK, individually, as Personal Representative of the Estate
of William Joseph Savage, deceased, and as Personal Representative
for the benefit of Chelsea Savage and Nicolas Savage, Plaintiff,
v.
JAY J. SMITH; DENNIS A. McCREA; HAWAIIAN SCUBA SHACK S-22840;
PADI AMERICAS, INC. and PADI WORLDWIDE CORPORATION,
both dba Professional Association of Diving Instructors, Defendants.
Civ. No. 14-00132 ACK-KJM
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAII
August 17, 2016
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, AND DECISION
This is an admiralty case brought by Plaintiff Sandra Hambrook ("Hambrook"), individually, as Personal Representative of the Estate of William Joseph Savage, deceased, and as Personal Representative for the benefit of her children, Chelsea Savage and Nicolas Savage, ("Plaintiff"), arising out of a tragic diving accident resulting in the death of Hambrook's husband, William Joseph Savage ("Bill"). Plaintiff filed her
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First Amended Complaint on April 7, 2015 against Defendants Jay Smith ("Smith"), Dennis McCrea ("McCrea"), Hawaii Scuba Shack S-22840 ("HSS"), PADI Worldwide Corporation and PADI Americas, Inc., both dba Professional Association of Dive Instructors, (collectively, "PADI") (all, collectively "Defendants").1 First Am. Compl. ("FAC"), ECF No. 89. On June 2, 2015, the Court granted PADI's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff's count for negligence against PADI and as to two vicarious liability claims raised against PADI. Order Granting Defendant PADI's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Denying Plaintiff's Counter-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment ("Summary Judgment Order"), ECF No. 119. The claims remaining in Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint are (1) negligence as against Smith, HSS, and McCrea; and (2) gross negligence against all defendants.
On December 22, 2015 and December 23, 2015, respectively, Defendant McCrea and Defendants Smith and HSS filed counterclaims against Plaintiff Sandra Lee Hambrook,
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individually, for equitable subrogation, contribution, and or indemnity. ECF Nos. 165-1, 166-1.2 3
On August 1, 2016, the Court issued its Order Regarding Motions in Limine. ECF No. 364.
For the reasons set forth herein, the Court finds and concludes that Smith/HSS was negligent with respect to the creation and execution of the dive plan, failure to give an adequate dive briefing, failure to use oxygen in conjunction with CPR together with McCrea to resuscitate Bill, and failure to have in place and implement an Emergency Action Plan. The Court additionally finds and concludes that McCrea was negligent in his failure to give an adequate dive briefing, failure to use oxygen in conjunction with CPR together with Smith to resuscitate Bill, and failure to inquire about emergency action procedures. The Court finds that Bill was twenty percent contributorily negligent insofar as he entered the overhead environment at Skull Cavern contrary to instructions he did not
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have the necessary training. Thus, for the reasons discussed herein and set forth below, the Court finds that judgment in favor of Plaintiff and jointly and severally against Smith, HSS, and McCrea is appropriate in the total amount of $2,201,974.41, as set forth in more detail in the Court's Decision. Because the Court finds and concludes that Hambrook was not contributorily negligent, judgment in favor of Plaintiff is also appropriate with respect to the remaining counterclaims. Finally, the Court finds and concludes that Plaintiff failed to prove her claims against PADI. Accordingly, judgment in favor of PADI is appropriate for Plaintiff's claims against PADI.
A 12-day bench trial was commenced on June 21, 2016, and completed on July 8, 2016.4 Having heard and weighed all the
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evidence and testimony adduced at trial, having observed the demeanor of the witnesses and evaluated their credibility and candor, having heard the arguments of counsel and considered the memoranda submitted, and pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a)(1), the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law. Where appropriate, findings shall operate as conclusions of law, and conclusions of law shall operate as findings of fact.
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SYNOPSIS 1
FINDINGS OF FACT 8
I. The Parties 8
A. Plaintiff 8
B. Smith/HSS 8
C. McCrea 8
D. PADI 9
II. The Family's Scuba Diving Training 10
III. Selection of Smith/HSS and April 10, 2012 Dives 13
IV. The Incident Dive - April 11, 2012 14
A. Selection of Dive Site 16
B. Assessment of Environmental Conditions 18
C. Dive Plan 20
D. Dive Briefing 25
E. Execution of Dive Plan 29
F. Recovery and Tow to Boat 41
G. Use of Oxygen, CPR, & Emergency Action Plan 46
V. Findings Related to Claims Against PADI 56
VI. Pain and Suffering, Witnessing the Incident, Family Life, and Earning Capacity 59
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 65
I. Jurisdiction and Venue 65
II. Applicable Law 67
III. Assumption of Risk, Waiver, and Releases 71
IV. Negligence Claims 83
V. Negligence Claims Against Smith/HSS 86
A. Selection of Dive Site 86
B. Assessment of Environmental Conditions 87
C. Dive Plan 88
D. Dive Briefing 89
E. Execution of Dive Plan 91
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F. Recovery and Tow to Boat 92
G. Use of Oxygen, CPR, & Emergency Action Plan 94
H. HSS Liability 96
VI. Negligence Claims Against McCrea 96
A. Dive Briefing 96
B. Use of Oxygen, CPR, & Emergency Procedures 98
VII. Gross Negligence Claims Against Smith/HSS and McCrea 100
VIII. Claims Against PADI 101
IX. Comparative Fault and Counterclaim 107
X. Damages 112
A. Pre-Death Pain and Suffering 112
B. Loss of Support 114
C. Loss of Services 117
D. Loss of Society 121
E. Emotional Distress 123
F. Hedonic Damages 125
G. Punitive Damages 127
H. Prejudgment Interest 128
XI. Calculation of Damages 130
XII. Joint and Several Liability 132
DECISION 133
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I. The Parties
A. Plaintiff
1. Plaintiff Hambrook is a Canadian citizen from the city of Calgary, in Alberta province. Hambrook Trial Tr. 8-59. Hambrook and Bill were married in Canada on September 4, 1993. Id. 8-66. Their daughter Chelsea was born in 1994 and their son Nicolas was born in 1998. Id. 8-68. At the time of the incident, Hambrook was 50, Bill was 49, Chelsea was 17, and Nicolas was 13. Hambrook Trial Tr. 8-59, 8-68.
B. Smith/HSS
2. Smith is the owner and sole proprietor of Hawaiian Scuba Shack, a scuba diving company in Kailua-Kona in Hawaii. Smith Trial Tr. 1-59-61. Smith and HSS own an unnamed 28-foot vessel that was used during the dive incident at issue. See id. 1-71. Smith became a certified diver in 1978, a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor in 1999, and a Master Scuba Diver Trainer/Instructor in 2006. Id. 1-59-60. Prior to 2012, Smith had trained approximately 300 divers. Id. 1-61. Smith obtained a Coast Guard License in 1984 and he still holds the license. Id.
C. McCrea
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3. McCrea first became certified in open water scuba diving in 1981 or 1982 through the National Association of Underwater Instructors ("NAUI"). McCrea Trial Tr. 3-32. McCrea received a rescue diver certification from NAUI in 1985 or 1986 and became a NAUI instructor in 1988. Id. 3-33. In 1990, McCrea became a PADI certified Open Water Scuba Instructor. Id. 3-35; Ex. 269. He later became a PADI certified Master Scuba Diver Trainer in 2005 and a certified Emergency First Responder instructor in 2007. Id. 3-38-39; Ex. 267; Ex. 268.
D. PADI
4. PADI is a world leader in scuba diving training. PADI teaches scuba diving training courses, provides certifications for various different areas of scuba diving, and publishes training manuals and other documents related to scuba diving. PADI holds Member Forums for dive professionals in various regions, including in Kona, to provide information about, among other things, changes to standards. Hornsby Trial Tr. 8-40. Emergency First Response Corporation ("EFR") is a wholly owned subsidiary of PADI Americas, Inc. Hornsby Trial Tr. 7-34, 7-41. EFR provides first aid and CPR training to the public. Ex. 182 (Hornsby Dep. Tr. 51). EFR publishes a quarterly publication called "The Responder" which includes updates to its member
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instructors regarding dive standards as well as other information.
II. The Family's Scuba Diving Training
5. On the weekend of January 29-31, 2010, Bill, Hambrook, and Nicolas received beginner's recreational scuba diving training in a classroom and pool in Calgary. Ex. 180 (Engel Dep. Tr. 24-25); Hambrook Trial Tr. 8-78.
6. They were taught basic scuba skills in the PADI Open Water Scuba Diver training course by PADI Instructor Ronald Engel ("Engel"), including buoyancy control and regulator recovery. Ex. 180 (Engel Dep. Tr. 16); Hambrook Trial Tr. 8-78-79.
7. During the family's training, they were provided with PADI's Open Water Dive Manual. Ex. 11. The manual instructs on how to establish positive and negative buoyancy, how to maintain neutral buoyancy, and how to use one's Buoyancy Control Device or Buoyancy Compensator Device ("BCD") to float at the surface of the ocean until assistance or rescue arrives in an emergency situation. Ex. 11 (Open Water Diver Manual), at 13-14, 154-55.
8. Engel recommended that for future scuba diving, the family should dive with PADI professional dive supervisors for their safety. Hambrook Trial Tr. 80-81.
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9. Engel's recommendation accords with the PADI Open Water Manual used by Engel in the family's Calgary classroom and pool training. Ex. 11 (Open Water Diver Manual), at 235 (recommending PADI Discover Local Diving orientation in a new area).
10. PADI encourages its instructors to tell its Open Water students to seek a local orientation when diving in a new area after they become certified divers. Ex. 182 (Hornsby Dep. Tr. 102).
11. After the pool training, the PADI Open Water course requires four training dives with a PADI Instructor in open water outside of a swimming pool. Ex. 183 (DiBiasio Dep. Tr. 33-36).
12. In February 2010, on Maui, Bill, Hambrook, and Nicolas...
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