PETAWA, Ontario (3 Oct 2008) — An expert witness has contradicted the pathologist's cause of death in the case of Charles Alex Padulo. In the fourth day of the inquest into the death of the 24-year-old member of the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, who died April 6, 2006 while completing his third open water dive in the Petawawa River, Dr. George Harpur claimed the primary cause of death was an air embolism. He considers the original report of drowning to be secondary. The witness was allowed to give expert evidence in the area of scuba diving deaths for the purpose of this inquest. He has investigated 37 diving deaths in his 34-year career. Dr. Harpur made his conclusion after examining the results of an autopsy conducted on Mr. Padulo's body approximately 22 hours after it was found in about three metres of water three days after he went missing. An air embolism is the presence of gas bubbles in the bloodstream that obstruct circulation, potentially causing unconsciousness. It's affect on the body is similar to that of a stroke, cutting off the blood supply to the brain, the doctor said. Contributing factors to Mr. Padulo's air embolism are likely the speed of his ascent through the water, creating a change in pressure that his body could not handle, combined with the presence of a bullae or blister in his lung that he may not have known existed. The bullae, which can be caused by a number of conditions, could have been detected by a chest x-ray, the jury heard. The presence of the bullae was not noted in the autopsy report. The fastest change in volume occurs close to the surface where the consequences are the most dangerous. If Mr. Padulo had taken a full breath 10 metres under water, exhaled fully or held his breath prior to a quick ascend through the water he would have had two lungs full of air with nowhere for the air to go when he reached the surface, causing his lungs to burst and push the air into the surrounding tissue, Dr. Harpur explained to the jury. He believes his conclusion supports the evidence that Mr. Padulo was disoriented and unresponsive after being separated from the other divers and unable to follow the instructions to inflate his buoyancy compensator and drop his weight belt. | | Joan Padulo is holding one of her favourite pictures of her son, Alex, who died during the third open water dive of a PADI entry-level scuba diving course. An inquest into the fatal scuba diving accident heard testimony that PADI scuba instructors Dustin Proper and Bruce Proper overweighted the victim and conducted their entry-level diver certification course in conditions that were not suitable for novice divers. There has been evidence in the inquest that Mr. Padulo did achieve neutral buoyancy during the April 6 dive and that he was found with the hose to his buoyancy compensator disconnected. Dr. Harpur would not say at what point the two could have become disconnected, although he suggested it couldn't have happened during the dive from his experience. In the scuba diving world, it is known that having a diver drop his or her weight belt has been a problem historically, according to Dr. Harpur. He told the jury there are problems associated with the technology, despite the basic design of the buckle and suggested it recommend the industry investigate other options. |
