Gwyneth Paltrow arrives in Utah court to take the stand in ‘hit-and-run’ skiing accident lawsuit
Gwyneth Paltrow has arrived in Utah court to testify in a 2016 hit-and-run skiing accident trial.
The actress, 50, was seen stepping out of a black SUV and bundled up in a long coat and sunglasses, keeping her head down as she walked into Park City District Court on Tuesday.
Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, who entered court today wearing a face mask, sued the Oscar-winning actress in January 2019, claiming she crashed into the back of him and left the scene at the exclusive Deer Valley resort in February 2016. .
Paltrow has insisted that it was Sanderson who skied into her and that he was the uphill skier in the crash.
Gwyneth Paltrow has arrived in Utah court to take the stand in a 2016 hit-and-run skiing accident lawsuit
The actress was seen stepping out of a black SUV and donning a long coat and sunglasses, keeping her head down as she walked into Park City District Court on Tuesday
Dr. Terry Sanderson, who entered court today wearing a face mask, sought damages of more than $3.1 million after the accident left him with a “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.” , emotional distress and disfigurement’
The retired optometrist is seeking damages of more than $3.1 million after the accident left him with “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of joy, emotional distress and disfigurement.”
A judge rejected Sanderson’s original hit-and-run claim and the Utah Resort and Paltrow’s instructor were removed from the lawsuit and it is now a $300,000 claim solely against the actress.
Paltrow is seeking “symbolic damages” of $1 plus her legal fees.
She accused Sanderson of trying to “exploit her celebrity and wealth” with the accident in which she received a full-body punch when he collided with her.
Paltrow told Sanderson she was angry with him and he apologized to her, but she was “shocked and upset” by the incident and stopped skiing that day, the lawsuit states.
“I heard a hysterical scream and I was immediately punched in the back,” Sanderson said at a news conference when he originally filed the lawsuit in 2019.
“It was just instantaneous, I got punched in the back. It felt like it just propelled me forward.”
In his original lawsuit, he accused her of getting up and skiing off without checking on him or offering help after the crash.
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 Utah in January 2019 alleging that Gwyneth Paltrow had broken four of his ribs and suffered brain damage after a skiing accident
The trial over the Deer Valley Resort incident begins today in Park City District Court
Sanderson claimed that her instructor, identified as Eric Christiansen, soon came over and told the injured man the incident was his fault and then skied off as well.
He says in the complaint that neither Paltrow nor the instructor alerted the ski patrol after they abandoned him, and he was left stranded and alone with brain damage and four broken ribs on the side of the mountain.
“This case concerns a hit-and-run ski accident in Deer Valley, Utah, where Defendant Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control and hit the back of Terry Sanderson, another skier, who was going downhill, knocked him down hard, knocked him out, and causing brain damage, four broken ribs and other serious injuries,” the legal filing said.
“Paltrow got up, turned and skied off, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.”
At that point, a ski instructor came by and mocked Sanderson’s claim, despite not seeing the crash.
“He also failed to send help as he was required to, and later filed a false report to protect his client, Ms. Paltrow,” the filing said.
“Neither Ms. Paltrow nor the Deer Valley lodge staff notified emergency services of the injured Dr. Sanderson. They left him at the scene with severe brain damage caused by Mrs. Paltrow.”
Paltrow, who was caught dining in Park City a day after the accident, is seeking “token damages” of $1 plus her legal fees in her countersuit, filed February 2019
He claimed damages of more than $3.1 million after the accident, but a judge rejected his original hit-and-run claim and it is now a $300,000 claim against Paltrow.
A sign directs skiers to the Bandana trail where the incident took place
View from the top: Paltrow was skiing the Bandana route (above) with friends and family.
But Paltrow claimed Sanderson said he was fine when Christiansen checked on him and stated that the instructor prepared a report that found Sanderson guilty of the incident.
Her counter-claim maintains that the retired doctor’s injuries were exaggerated and that an examination with a doctor showed no deficits in cognitive functioning.
Medical records at the time reveal a diagnosis of a “mild” concussion, according to the lawsuit, and that he was on international vacation for “an extended period” after the accident.
And Sanderson has 15 other chronic medical problems, and a year earlier he told his doctor he was blind in his right eye and vision was declining in his left eye, according to the documents.
“She didn’t knock him down,” the counterclaim states, “and didn’t give him a concussion, brain injury, or broken ribs.”
Paltrow was skiing on the resort’s Bandana beginner slope under the guidance of a ski instructor at the time of the incident.
According to Sanderson’s complaint, she allegedly ran down the mountain to eat lunch at the Montage Lodge in Deer Valley.
Deer Valley adheres to the National Ski Areas Association’s Code of Responsibility, which states that downhill skiers have the right of way, but everyone must remain in control and be able to stop and avoid others.
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