The Linnea Mills case, a perfect example of what is wrong in the recreational diving industry.

You might remember the story of recreational diving student Linnea Mills, who drowned in 2019 during an ice/altitude training dive in Lake McDonald, in the Glacier National Park. The case at the time sent shockwaves through the industry, as it was a perfect example of gross negligence by the PADI Instructor, and the affiliated diving center.

To refresh your memory: A dive student, with a new second hand drysuit, 22 Kg of weights and without an inflator hose! On her first ever cold water / altitude dive. A negligent, zero to hero PADI instructor, without real cold water/drysuit qualifications...
The result: a massive suit squeeze, resulting in drowning.

The coroner untrained in dive accidents combined with a false testimony, ruled accidental death. So no criminal charges were pursued.

Linnea's family, and 2 divers who participated are now pursuing PADI, the instructor and the facility in a legal lawsuit of 12 million dollars.

Old skool industry professionals including myself, have said it over and over again, standards in the industry have dropped to an all time low. The quality of 'professional' Instructors trained since 1995, has consistently dropped, with every change in S&P's made to increase the creation of said instructors. Which are in the eyes of corporations like PADI, besides certifications, their bread and butter.

While PADI's quality assurance department is one of the better ones out there, it still is just a business enforcing rules on its customers. The larger the customer, the lower the sanctions (if any) will be.

Will a lawsuit of 12 Million dollars, be enough to hurt a corporate giant like PADI, or better yet re-orient pro diver training to produce quality professional divers?

The Zero to Hero instructor programs must stop, they reflect badly on true career professionals.

Please consider donating, to the Linnea Foundation: https://givebutter.com/linnea

More details on this case in the videos below.