The climber should take responsibility on choosing their belayer and climbing routes that are appropriate with said belayer.

I'm not blaming it, I was just noting that it could have added a superfluous layer of protection.

I'm not blaming it, I was just noting that it could have added a layer of protection. The fall happened in three stages:
1. Fell about 15feet due to pulling slack/being 6ish feet above my last peice.
2. Got to end of that slack, and yanked my belayer off the ground, about 7 feet of gentle braking.
3. When my belayer hit the first piece, he released his brake hand and let me free fall the last 6 feet to the ground.

Maybe a gri gri would have hit the first draw and been ineffective, but it might just prevent actually hitting the ground. I assumed that when my partner said "climb," everything was ok, but it obviously was not. Communication broke down, but all I can do is try to make things safer the next time.

I once heard a story (most likely a false myth) about a belayer was hit by falling rock and died still clenching onto that rope. Though it is most likely BS, that's how motivated you should be on NOT dropping your climber.

"The 1999 Glacier Point rockfall claimed the life of my friend Peter Terbush. When the rocks started falling Peter held the belay and saved his partner, Kerry Pyle. It took them a week to dig his body out, and when they found him he was still holding the belay."

I once heard a story (most likely a false myth) about a belayer was hit by falling rock and died still clenching onto that rope.

The belayer flying unxpectedly into the air and losing control of the braking stand is actually, in many circumstances, also well within the realm of normal. An experienced climber will anticipate that possibility and tether the belayer into something. Now you know. These things do happen. Now you are experienced.

No, in 36 years of climbing I've never been dropped - never even close to being dropped. And to borrow a somewhat lame phrase from the gun lobby: belay devices don't drop people; people do. This has nothing whatsoever to do with any device other than the one between your ears.

It is a case of not "getting" the idea that a leader is building a continuous [rope] system of protection one piece at a time that has to work as a whole with the belayer as the foundation of the system. If that foundation is shaky the leader is at risk and especially so the first two or three pieces off the ground. For a belayer to be solid they have to be either lashed down or well-stanced and should be reasonably close to the wall. Stancing is not really talked about, taught, or learned today, but it is a real craft all by itself and worth thinking about. And all that counts in spades before a rope is ever put through a belay device. Again, you're not just belaying, you're establishing the first, bedrock piece in the system (albeit a human one) and if it's shaky the whole exercise is now fraught with peril.

After that's all in place you can then talk about belaying and devices, but that in essence is, or should be, a matter of fundamental competency regardless of the device of choice. And there is no aspect of any device made that can or should be expected or counted upon to compensate for deficient belaying. If anywhere in your mind you hear the whisper of a little voice suggesting that "his xyz will catch me if he doesn't", you should quietly untie and step back from the rock because you just ain't gettin' it.

And last, there is no such thing as an auto-blocking / locking device - it's the most viral, widespread, and commonly held misconception in climbing. There are no devices that can reliably catch a leader's fall absent human action - can they catch a fall most of the time? Sure, and the fact that they do in turn dominates and sets up peoples perceptions and expectations for such devices. But those expectations are wholly unwarranted. The devices would be better labeled "auto-holding" devices as, once initiatied by a human, they do hold a human in space reliably, but auto-(b)locking they are not and the day you start counting on one to be is likely to be the day one disappoints you.

I mean, you're supposed to be THE belayer, not a belay attendant to a device doing the belaying. Part of that means a belayer needs to own the entire lay-of-the-land / context at the base of a climb, or at an anchor on multipitch, and size up the best stances, lines of leader's ascent and potential rock fall, force vectors on the first piece, and in general sort and process all the details to establish an effective and safe belay.

All that and implement the highest priority safety protocol of them all in today's highly socialized climbing scene - STFU, focus, and actually belay like you'd want to be if it was your ass tied into the sharp end.

[Edit: Apologies to those who've heard the rant before...]

This should be quoted and posted many, many, many times.