A Recent Court Decision Changes The Legal Landscape For Skiers In Colorado.

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Watch this video news story from Channel 7 News in Denver, CO. Basically, a recent December 2020 Appeals Court ruling has decided that skiers cannot bring action against ski resorts, expanding protection for resorts, releasing resorts from any and all liability from injuries, including chairlifts and gondolas.

Question For You: What’s your reaction? Is this any different from what we’ve always read on the backs of lift tickets? Or is this decision more ominous?

Please note your comments in Leave A Reply below.

 

13 Comments

  1. I disagree with the ruling. There has to be legal responsibility by the resort when operating their equipment like a chairlift , gondola and tram. If they are negligent in their operation or Maintenance, they should be held responsible not the skier or snowboarder.

  2. Esteban E Sarmiento says:

    This ruling reflects the rampant corruption evinced by the selected and not elected black-robed clowns. They will always side with money and power so as to continue feeding at the public trough. We need to enact a draft system for judges. Lawyers belonging to the state bar should be drafted to act as judges for three yrs at a nominal fee of no more than $15 an hour. For them to remain in the bar they will have to volunteer this time to the state, This will not only prevent ownership of black robed clowns by the corporations, but it will save the tax-payers exorbitant salaries and make for a better quality of both judges and lawyers, The people can not sir still and enable this rampant corruption by supporting a system that encourages it,

  3. Pennsylvania Ski Law protects the resort from all incidents including obvious and repeated negligence.

    My wife almost lost her life due to obvious groomer negligence. The resort acknowledged and corrected the situation the day after her accident but the condition came back a few days later and still remains.

    Every personal injury lawyers I spoke with said there was no way to legally force the resort to change their way of operating.

  4. Howard Geller says:

    A good decision. The tort claim system in America has gotten out of control and in too many cases amounts to legalized extortion. We should follow the example of other sensible developed countries where if you file suit and the defendant prevails the plaintiff has to pay the defendant’s legal fees.

  5. Don’t know enough to make an informed decision. At first hearing it sounds wrong. In any tourist ticket tourist activity the provider has to have a duty to provide safe equipment. This one will be going way up the legal system.

  6. This is an outrageous decision. All people and businesses should be accountable for basic safety. We all agree there are inherent risks in skiing, those are excepted. Negligence and carelessness are wholly different matters.

  7. I agree that some people will sue for anything and this has increased the price of lift tickets over the decades I have been skiing. But with that being said, I think a ski resort should be held accountable in cases of equipment failure or otherwise gross negligence. Because the way it looks to me after this ruling, a drunk or stoned snow groomer driving a multi-ton grooming machine could run over an entire family and nothing would happen.

  8. Yvette Cardozo says:

    I’m not holding my breath for a change, given the present makeup of the US Supreme Court.

  9. Kelli Majiros says:

    Sure makes me want to go back to rope tows and t-bars.

  10. Yvette Cardozo says:

    All this brings up a memory of a trip decades ago to a resort in Argentina. I was with the Miami ski club which was doctor and lawyer heavy. One guy, a lawyer if I remember right, went down and broke his leg. As I recall, it was just an accident but he was making noises about suing when someone asked him, “Where exactly do you think you are…we’re not in the US and don’t even try.” So yes, there are people who will try to sue no matter what.

  11. Skiing is a dangerous sport. However, in the cases of negligence by a resort, then it needs to pay the piper, so to speak. However, there are way, way to many frivolous lawsuits against ski areas which need to go away. How this happens in our legal system is a tough solution, but some states have put in protection for doctors, so why not ski areas.

    Having seen the P&Ls of several large resorts while working as a consulting, their legal expenses to defend themselves is a major expense. But, again, if through negligence, someone is seriously hurt, then they need to be held accountable.

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