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Girl's Drowning Lawsuit Targets Scuba Giants
3 Feb
Summary
- Parents sue after 12-year-old drowns during dive certification.
- Lawsuit alleges systemic safety failures in scuba industry.
- Disturbing video of dive shop owner's comments cited.
A sweeping wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the parents of a 12-year-old girl who drowned during a scuba certification dive in North Texas on August 16, 2025. The 40-page suit names multiple dive shops, instructors, and two major scuba certification organizations, NAUI and PADI, alleging her death was preventable due to systemic safety failures.
The child, who weighed approximately 77 pounds, was undergoing entry-level certification at The Scuba Ranch in Terrell. Plaintiffs claim she received insufficient training hours, falling short of NAUI standards, and was improperly cleared for an open-water dive. The lawsuit also states she lacked essential safety equipment like a timing device or dive computer.
Despite parents paying for private instruction, the girl was allegedly placed in a large group with poor underwater visibility. She became separated from her divemaster and the group. Emergency services were called around 10:27 a.m. after she was last seen, and she was found unresponsive underwater about 30 minutes later.
