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Today I felt especially nostalgic so I went back and started writing up a new closing for the old mock trial case. I don’t know why I wasted my time with it, but it was sort of oddly enjoyable to do.
Looks can be deceiving, and in diving, deception is deadly. Today we heard the story of the Hepburn Expedition, how the divers assembled on the deck of The Man of the People, on what the weather report said was a beautiful day, 85 degrees, clear skies, a gentle breeze. But as we’ve heard, looks can be deceiving, because over the horizon, out of the sight of these divers, a storm was brewing. And between the time it took for those divers to jump off the ship and dive down to the wreck, this storm moved from over the horizon to of the Man of the People. And as Jordan Nelson told you, with this storm came 50 mile an hour winds, strong currents, and low visibility.
And we also heard today, the weather wasn’t the only thing that was deceiving on that morning. That group of divers assembled on the deck of the Man of the People all appeared to be fit, healthy [and experienced]…what you would expect from divers ready for a deep sea dive to a shipwreck. All except one, Lee Allen. Lee Allen was suffering from a chronic medical condition – hypertension – a condition with no outward symptoms. But Lee Allen didn’t share this with anyone from Neptune Underwater Expeditions. In fact, he did the opposite. He signed this waiver – confirming that he was [READ IT] “in good physical condition to dive.”
And it was this combination of a storm that no one could see and a disease that no one knew about that led to Lee Allen’s death. Because in a deep underwater dive, deception can be deadly.
And while we all feel for Mr. Allen and his wife, for the pain of her loss – you must set aside your emotions and follow the law. You must separate the tragedy from the liability.
So let’s talk about that liability. Mr. __ told you that he must prove four elements for you to find Neptune liable. And I’d like to focus your attention on two of these elements, recklessness and foreseeability.
At this point, you may be asking yourself, what is recklessness? Well, recklessness is taking risks that no one could justify. Now, Mr./Ms. __ have claimed that Neptune was reckless in innumerable ways. And while their arguments may look pretty convincing at first glance, looks can be deceiving. So let’s take a closer look at what they’ve said. You heard that Neptune took risks by sending divers down to the Hepburn. That the location and wreck made it too dangerous for recreational divers. But let’s look at the evidence. Neptune has safely taken over 100 people down to the Hepburn. On top of this, Dr. Nelson told you that the Hepburn wreck is the perfect location for a dive site: warm waters, high visibility, and little to no currents. So is it unjustifiable to send divers down to the perfect dive site that over 100 people have been to safely? No. You heard that Neptune took risks by diving during a storm. But, members of the jury, you heard from every witness who was there that before the dive the weather was perfect. And on top of that perfect weather they checked the forecast, which said no storm. And this wasn’t any forecast, Dr. Nelson, told you that this forecast from the Koala Weather Service is the gold standard for weather forecasting. So [HOLD UP FORECAST], is it unjustifiable to trust the weather forecast? No.
Looks can be deceiving, and in diving, deception is deadly. Today we heard the story of the Hepburn Expedition, how the divers assembled on the deck of The Man of the People, on what the weather report said was a beautiful day, 85 degrees, clear skies, a gentle breeze. But as we’ve heard, looks can be deceiving, because over the horizon, out of the sight of these divers, a storm was brewing. And between the time it took for those divers to jump off the ship and dive down to the wreck, this storm moved from over the horizon to of the Man of the People. And as Jordan Nelson told you, with this storm came 50 mile an hour winds, strong currents, and low visibility.
And we also heard today, the weather wasn’t the only thing that was deceiving on that morning. That group of divers assembled on the deck of the Man of the People all appeared to be fit, healthy [and experienced]…what you would expect from divers ready for a deep sea dive to a shipwreck. All except one, Lee Allen. Lee Allen was suffering from a chronic medical condition – hypertension – a condition with no outward symptoms. But Lee Allen didn’t share this with anyone from Neptune Underwater Expeditions. In fact, he did the opposite. He signed this waiver – confirming that he was [READ IT] “in good physical condition to dive.”
And it was this combination of a storm that no one could see and a disease that no one knew about that led to Lee Allen’s death. Because in a deep underwater dive, deception can be deadly.
And while we all feel for Mr. Allen and his wife, for the pain of her loss – you must set aside your emotions and follow the law. You must separate the tragedy from the liability.
So let’s talk about that liability. Mr. __ told you that he must prove four elements for you to find Neptune liable. And I’d like to focus your attention on two of these elements, recklessness and foreseeability.
At this point, you may be asking yourself, what is recklessness? Well, recklessness is taking risks that no one could justify. Now, Mr./Ms. __ have claimed that Neptune was reckless in innumerable ways. And while their arguments may look pretty convincing at first glance, looks can be deceiving. So let’s take a closer look at what they’ve said. You heard that Neptune took risks by sending divers down to the Hepburn. That the location and wreck made it too dangerous for recreational divers. But let’s look at the evidence. Neptune has safely taken over 100 people down to the Hepburn. On top of this, Dr. Nelson told you that the Hepburn wreck is the perfect location for a dive site: warm waters, high visibility, and little to no currents. So is it unjustifiable to send divers down to the perfect dive site that over 100 people have been to safely? No. You heard that Neptune took risks by diving during a storm. But, members of the jury, you heard from every witness who was there that before the dive the weather was perfect. And on top of that perfect weather they checked the forecast, which said no storm. And this wasn’t any forecast, Dr. Nelson, told you that this forecast from the Koala Weather Service is the gold standard for weather forecasting. So [HOLD UP FORECAST], is it unjustifiable to trust the weather forecast? No.
