Five Divers Dead During Florida’s Lobster Hunt Season

According to the Cyber Diver News Network, both the United States Coast Guard and Florida media misreported the number of fatal diving accident victims during this year’s lobster mini-season. This year, a total of five divers were killed during the two-day annual hunting event.

Among the fatalities were Scott Schichtel, a 39-year-old whose death seems to have been overlooked by the Coast Guard and local media. Schichtel’s body was found about three miles off St. Lucie Inlet, where he and his brother were diving for lobsters. Several more Florida scuba divers were killed before the start of the lobster hunting season.

Few of those scuba-related deaths appear to be related to equipment failure. During the past five years, the CDNN estimates that at least 26 divers were killed or severely injured by boats in Florida.

Scuba carnage: Five more divers die during Florida’s annual lobster hunt, CDNN.com, July 31, 2009
Contact our Florida personal injury lawyers if you have lost a loved one to a boating or scuba accident.

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