A diver who was left drifting off California by a charter boat is suing the owners and the dive centre for £2.6million ($4million USD).
Daniel Carlock filed the lawsuit in 2005 against Ocean Adventures Dive and Sun Diver Charters alleging negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Carlock was diving with 20 divers, seven miles off Newport Beach in April 2004. He says he became separated from the others when he had problems equalising his ears and surfaced 130m down-current of the boat, Sundiver.
Unable to swim to the boat, he tried to attract attention with a whistle. The rest of the group finished their dive and set off for the second site 10 miles away, leaving Carlock in the water.
Zacarias Araneta, a dive guide on the boat that day, said a roll call had been made at the end of the first dive and that someone had answered to Carlock's name. It was only when the boat reached the second dive site that staff realised Carlock was missing. They alerted the coastguard and a search was carried out at the second site.
Carlock was rescued from the sea five hours later by a tall ship Argus crewed by boy scouts. His attorney at the trial in Los Angeles said he was certain he was going to die and that he suffered sunburn, which he claims led to skin cancer.
Defence attorneys for Ocean Adventures Diving said Carlock failed to confirm who his buddy was before the dive and that he didn't surface where he was supposed to. The case continues.
