PADI Risk Management and Liability 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under US law, which doctrine can reduce a diver's compensation if they are found partially at fault for their own injury?
- Contributory negligence
- Comparative negligence (Correct answer)
- Assumption of risk
- Vicarious liability
Correct answer: Comparative negligence
Comparative negligence apportions fault between parties, reducing the plaintiff's damages by their percentage of fault.
Question 2: A PADI instructor allows a student to dive beyond the depth limit stipulated in the course standards. If injury occurs, this is best described as:
- Assumption of risk
- Per se negligence (Correct answer)
- Comparative fault
- Intervening cause
Correct answer: Per se negligence
Violating a specific statute or industry standard (like PADI depth limits) can constitute negligence per se, establishing breach automatically.
Question 3: Which PADI document records that a student was informed of diving hazards and voluntarily accepted those risks before training?
- Medical Statement
- Liability Release and Express Assumption of Risk (Correct answer)
- Open Water Diver certification card
- Instructor's logbook entry
Correct answer: Liability Release and Express Assumption of Risk
The Liability Release and Express Assumption of Risk form documents informed consent and voluntary acceptance of inherent diving risks.
Question 4: Which type of insurance coverage pays for a diver's own medical expenses resulting from a dive accident, regardless of fault?
- Professional liability insurance
- General liability insurance
- Accident and medical insurance (Correct answer)
- Umbrella liability insurance
Correct answer: Accident and medical insurance
Accident and medical (first-party) insurance covers the policyholder's own medical costs without requiring proof of another party's negligence.
Question 5: A dive center's general liability policy specifically excludes claims arising from professional services. To cover student injury claims, the center also needs:
- Workers' compensation insurance
- Professional liability (E&O) insurance (Correct answer)
- Property insurance
- Business interruption insurance
Correct answer: Professional liability (E&O) insurance
Professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance covers claims arising from the professional services of instruction, filling the gap left by general liability exclusions.
Question 6: When a PADI Divemaster supervises a certified diver who is clearly intoxicated and that diver drowns, the Divemaster's failure to intervene may establish:
- Assumption of risk
- Breach of duty to act (Correct answer)
- Statute of limitations
- Sovereign immunity
Correct answer: Breach of duty to act
A Divemaster's professional role creates a duty of care, and failing to act on an obvious hazard constitutes a breach of that duty.
Question 7: PADI's Standards and Procedures manual primarily serves as which type of legal evidence in negligence cases?
- Hearsay evidence
- The industry standard of care (Correct answer)
- A statutory regulation
- An affirmative defense
Correct answer: The industry standard of care
PADI's published standards define the expected standard of care for instructors and serve as the benchmark against which instructor conduct is measured in court.
PADI Risk Management and Liability 2
Under US law, which doctrine can reduce a diver's compensation if they are found partially at fault for their own injury?