Gwyneth Paltrow arrives at Utah court to take the stand in lawsuit over ‘hit-and-run’ ski crash
A somber Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court in Park City, Utah, on Tuesday for the first day of an eight-day trial for an alleged ‘hit-and-run’ ski accident in 2016.
The 50-year-old actress was seen getting out of a black pickup truck and draped in a long coat and sunglasses, keeping her head down as she walked to Park City District Court on Tuesday.
Dr Terry Sanderson, 76, who was seen entering court today wearing a face mask, sued the Oscar-winning actress in January 2019, alleging she crashed into him and left the scene at the exclusive resort. Deer Valley in February 2016. .
Paltrow has insisted that it was Sanderson who skied into her and that he was the uphill skier in the accident.
Gwyneth Paltrow Arrived in Utah Court to Take the Stand in a 2016 Hit-and-Run Ski Accident Trial
The actress was seen getting out of a black SUV and wearing a long coat and sunglasses, keeping her head down as she walked to the Park City District Court on Tuesday.
Dr. Terry Sanderson, seen entering court wearing a face mask today, sought compensation of more than $3.1 million after the accident left him with a “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering , loss of enjoyment of life”. , emotional distress and disfigurement’
The retired optometrist sought compensation of more than $3.1 million after the accident left him with “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement.” .
A judge threw out Sanderson’s original hit-and-run claim and the Utah Resort and Paltrow’s instructor were dropped from the lawsuit and it is now a $300,000 claim against the actress alone.
Paltrow is filing a counterclaim for ‘token damages’ of $1 plus her legal fees.
She accused Sanderson of trying to “exploit his celebrity and wealth” with the accident in which she suffered a full-body concussion when he collided with her.
Paltrow told Sanderson she was angry with him and he apologized to her, but the incident left her “shocked and upset” and she stopped skiing that day, the lawsuit says.
“I heard this hysterical scream and I was instantly hit on the back,” Sanderson said at a news conference when he originally filed the lawsuit in 2019.
It was instant, they hit me in the back. It felt like it had pushed me forward.
In his original lawsuit, he accused her of getting up and skiing without checking on him or offering help after the accident.
Paltrow in a social media post the year before the accident at the Deer Valley resort in Utah. She captioned the post: ’20 years later and I still have it #justlikeridingabike’
Terry Sanderson (pictured) filed a lawsuit in January 2019 in Utah alleging that Gwyneth Paltrow broke four ribs, leaving him brain damaged after a skiing accident.
Trial in Deer Valley Resort Incident Begins Today in Park City District Court
Sanderson claimed that his instructor, identified as Eric Christiansen, soon came over and informed the injured man that the incident was his fault and then skied off as well.
It says in the complaint that neither Paltrow nor the instructor alerted the ski patrol after abandoning him, leaving him stranded and alone with brain damage and four broken ribs on the side of the mountain.
‘This case involves a hit-and-run ski accident in Deer Valley, Utah, where defendant Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control and struck the back of Terry Sanderson, another skier, who was downhill, forcefully knocking him unconscious. and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries,’ the legal file indicated.
“Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving a dazed Sanderson lying in the snow, badly injured.”
That’s when a ski instructor came up and scoffed at Sanderson’s claims, even though he didn’t see the accident.
“He also failed to send help, as he was required to, and then filed a false report to protect his client, Ms. Paltrow,” the filing states.
‘Neither Ms Paltrow nor staff at the Deer Valley shelter notified emergency services about the injured Dr Sanderson. He was left at the scene with severe brain injuries caused by Mrs. Paltrow.
Paltrow, who was photographed dining in Park City a day after the accident, is seeking “token damages” of $1 plus her legal fees in her countersuit, filed in February 2019.
He sought damages of more than $3.1 million after the accident, but a judge threw out his original hit-and-run claim and it is now a $300,000 claim against Paltrow.
A sign directing skiers to the Bandana Trail where the incident occurred.
View from above: Paltrow was skiing the Bandana Trail (above) with friends and family
But Paltrow alleged that Sanderson said he was fine when Christiansen reviewed it and claimed that the instructor prepared a report that found Sanderson to be at fault for the incident.
His counterclaim insists that the retired doctor’s injuries were exaggerated and that an examination with a doctor did not show any deficits in cognitive functioning.
Medical records at the time reveal a diagnosis of “mild” concussion, according to the lawsuit, and that he was on vacation internationally for “prolonged periods” after the accident.
And Sanderson has 15 other chronic medical problems and told his doctor a year earlier that he was blind in his right eye and vision in his left eye was diminishing, according to the documents.
“She did not knock him down,” the counterclaim says, “nor cause him to suffer a concussion, brain injury, or broken ribs.”
Paltrow was skiing the resort’s Bandana beginner slope with the guidance of a ski instructor at the time of the incident.
According to Sanderson’s complaint, he was allegedly running down the mountain to eat lunch at Montage Lodge in Deer Valley.
Deer Valley adheres to the National Ski Areas Association’s responsibility code, which states that downhill skiers have the right-of-way, but everyone must maintain control and be able to stop and avoid others.