Standup paddleboarding is like surfing, except that you use a paddle to stay upright, making the sport more like rowing a raft. Archaeological evidence suggests that ancient cultures around the world, from China to South America to the Middle East, engaged in paddleboarding-like activities, but most recreational paddleboarding practiced in the United States today is of the Hawaiian style. Most paddleboarding takes place in the ocean, but you can also paddleboard in rivers and lakes. Paddleboarding is not, however, similar to whitewater rafting. There are areas of the Rio Grande suitable for whitewater rafting and other areas suitable for paddleboarding; they are near each other but not alike. Earlier this month, two paddleboarders got stranded in the Taos Box in the Rio Grande. If you have been injured in a paddleboarding accident in New Mexico, contact a Santa Fe slip-and-fall and premises liability lawyer.
River Guides Lead Rescue Efforts to Bring Paddleboarders Stranded in the Taos Box to Safety
In November 2024, Taos Central Dispatch received an SOS that they were able to trace to Taos Box, an area of the Rio Grande where Class IV rapids are closely spaced for about 16 miles. The area is appropriate for whitewater rafting, but only by experienced participants who have proper gear and are accompanied by river guides. The people who sent the SOS followed bad advice they had read online and ended up in a dangerous place where they were unprepared. Sydnie Keeter and Jeremy Norris started downstream from Taos Box on their paddleboards; they thought they were still in an area where the water was so calm that one could float down on an inner tube, but instead, they ended up in waters they could not navigate. Two river guides rescued them by lighting a campfire to keep them warm until additional rescuers arrived to transport them to safety. Keeter and Norris did not have wetsuits or any of the gear that whitewater rafting participants should use to stay warm if they fall in the water. The river guides estimated that if Keeter and Norris had been stranded for just a few more hours before help arrived, they would not have survived.
Who is Legally Responsible for Paddleboarding Accidents?
Keeter and Norris are recovering physically after their ordeal. Who is legally responsible when people get injured in paddleboarding accidents, though? It depends on the circumstances. If a tour operator rented the paddleboards or even accompanied the injured person to the paddleboarding site where the accident occurred, the injured person may be able to file a premises liability claim. With incidents such as the one at Taos Box, though, the paddleboarders ventured out alone and got stranded in public waters. Therefore, recreational land use laws likely bar them from filing any premises liability claims.
Contact Slate Stern About Paddleboarding Accident Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured in water recreation accidents. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
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