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.
