LONG LAKE — New York has agreed to pay $1.5 million to the family of a Massachusetts man who in 2015 drowned in a well-known, but dangerous, section of river in the Adirondacks.
Dale Scott Calverley of Wayland, Mass., died Aug. 17, 2015 when he became caught in an underwater current, or hydraulic, that can suck swimmers into an area below Buttermilk Falls, a series of cascades on the Raquette River.
Calverley, a former ocean lifeguard, was on a camping trip with his family. He left behind a wife and three children.
He had been swimming for about 20 minutes when he became stuck at the base of the falls.
Other swimmers pulled him out of the current but were unable to revive Calverley with CPR.
Nelson E. Canter, a partner with the New York City-based McLaughlin & Stern law firm argued before the state Court of Claims — and then the Appellate Division — that the state knew or should have known about the dangerous conditions and should have taken affirmative steps to properly warn visitors to the area.
“We are proud to have seen this case through to a successful outcome. This was a terrible tragedy and hope that this resolution not only provides some relief to Dale’s family but also engenders some action on the state to warn visitors of Buttermilk Falls about the dangers of swimming in this area,” Canter said of the settlement.
There have been other drownings at the falls, including Nicholas Padilla of Buffalo, who drowned in 2014, and Scott Karlnoski from the Rochester area, who died in 2018.
A website promoting the Long Lake/Raquette Lake area noted that the falls are “extremely dangerous at both low water and high water, and year-round,” according to court papers.
It also recommends that people do not venture into the waters of the actual falls.
According to court documents, Calverley had asked someone at a…
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