Call for stricter medical checks for divers after man suffers heart attack
Posted: March 2, 2014
Posted in: Personal Injury
After a man had a heart attack while diving in a Cumbrian lake, the coroner at the inquest has called for stricter regulations to be put in place concerning how divers’ medical records are checked. 39-year-old Carl Morris died in January 2013 after getting into some difficulty at a depth of 164ft (50m) at Wastwater. The inquest found that he was a fully qualified diving instructor, but did not have a valid medical certificate.
Mr Morris from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire was 6’1” (1.8m) tall, weighing between 17 and 21 stone (107-133kg) and was a heavy smoker, heard the inquest. A jury in Cockermouth agreed on the verdict of death by natural causes, but a post-mortem examination uncovered that he died of a heart attack in the water caused by a blocked coronary artery.
“Died doing the sport that he loved”
Robert Chapman, the assistant coroner, decided after the inquest to write to diving association PADI UK in an attempt to introduce more thorough checks of divers’ records to prevent a similar incident from reoccurring.
A statement given by Mr Morris’ family described him as a “larger-than-life character who died doing the sport that he loved”. It took a two-day search by rescue teams to discover Mr Morris’ body.
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