The actress-turned-lifestyle influencer Gwyneth Paltrow is set to go on trial on Tuesday in a case brought by a retired optometrist who claims that the actress-turned-influencer violently collided into him in 2016 while skiing in Utah at one of the fanciest ski resorts in the country.
Terry Sanderson, 76, claimed that Paltrow was descending Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain renowned for its groomed runs, apres-ski champagne yurts, and upscale clientele, so recklessly that they collided and she and her retinue left him on the ground.
“Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control,” Sanderson’s attorneys claim in the lawsuit, “knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries. Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.”
Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000 in a case that has dragged on since the 2016 incident, alleging that the Park City accident was caused by negligence and left him with physical injuries and mental distress.
Who was further down the beginner’s run when the collision occurred is a key issue in the case because, at ski resorts, the skier going downhill has the right of way. In court documents, Paltrow and Sanderson each assert that they were further to the downward side when the other struck them.
Deer Valley and its workers, according to Sanderson, were involved in a “cover up” by failing to include all relevant details in incident reports and failing to adhere to resort safety regulations.
