Gwyneth Paltrow sued for $3.1m for 'leaving man with brain injury and four broken ribs' after skiing crash
A man says Paltrow was allegedly skiing out of control and knocked him out
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Your support makes all the difference.Gwyneth Paltrow has been hit by a lawsuit accusing her of seriously injuring a Utah man during a skiing crash at a Park City resort in 2016.
Terry Sanderson says in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Utah state court that Paltrow was skiing out of control and knocked him out, leaving him with a brain injury and four broken ribs. The alleged incident occurred on 26 February, 2016, on a beginner run at Deer Valley Resort.
Sanderson claims Paltrow allegedly left him injured on the mountain and didn’t send help, and that a Deer Valley ski instructor filed a false incident report saying Paltrow didn’t cause the crash.
Sanderson’s lawsuit seeks $3.1m (£2.3m) in damages.
A spokeswoman for Paltrow, Heather Wilson, told the AP that the lawsuit is “without merit” and that Paltrow expects to be “vindicated”.
Deer Valley Resort spokeswoman Emily Summers told the AP that the resort, which is also being sued, can’t comment on pending legal matters.
Sanderson said at a news conference in Salt Lake City at his attorney’s office that it took him nearly three years to file a lawsuit because he dragged his feet, ran into problems with previous attorneys and was dealing with inability to function properly because of the concussion.
He said he has been in contact with an attorney representing Paltrow, but he has never been offered any compensation or an apology. They have even suggested he could be sued, Sanderson said.
Sanderson’s denies he’s suing because Paltrow is a famous and rich celebrity. He called it an unkind gesture not to stick around or apologise for what happened.
“I would like to be vindicated,” said Sanderson, now 72. “I would like my truth to be told.”
Attorneys for Sanderson said Paltrow’s attorneys don’t deny she was involved in a crash, but dispute her culpability, said lawyer Robert Sykes, who represents Sanderson.
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The events are based on the memory of an acquaintance who was skiing with Sanderson that day of the crash, Sykes said. Sanderson said he doesn’t remember anything beyond being struck in the back and losing control of his body as he was thrust forward with somebody on his back.
The witness, Craig Ramon, said a Deer Valley ski instructor berated Sanderson as he laid knocked out on the snow, face down. He told Ramon that Sanderson had taken out Paltrow.
Sykes said Paltrow violated the reckless skiing provision of the Summit County code, which requires a skier to stay at the scene of a crash to make sure the other skier is taken care of.
Additional reporting by agencies.