In our last post, Nicole reviewed some basics of ski and snowboard safety.
Now let’s look at some ski and snowboard accidents that ended up in Court.
In Kralik v. Mt. Seymour Resorts, a skier tries to clear some snow from the chairlift seat. He becomes entangled in the seat as it moves forward. He knows he will fall as the chairlift keeps moving, so he decides to let go when the fall is only three metres. He injures his shoulder and sues Mt. Seymour Resorts. He says the operator failed to stop the lift in time to prevent his fall.Mr. Kralik’s injuries prevent him from continuing in his line of work as a painter.
The case ends up in the Court of Appeal. The Appeal Judge says that Mr. Kralik and Mt. Seymour are each 50% at fault for the accident.
In Gregorowicz v. Lee, a five-year-old boy is skiing on Grouse Mountain with his father. He is hit by a teenage snowboarder. The crash leaves the boy with two fractures in his right leg.
The Judge says that the teenage boy is 75% percent at fault. The boy is too young to be found at fault, but the boy’s father is 25% at fault for leading his son across an unsafe portion of the ski hill.
For information on what to do (and what not to do) at the scene of an alpine accident, visit www.ski-injury.com/first_response.
