SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah, March 20, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A lawsuit brought against actress Gwyneth Paltrow after an alleged collision at a Park City ski resort goes to trial Tuesday.
The 2019 case stems from a ski slope run-in between Paltrow and Utah resident Terry Sanderson on Feb. 26, 2016 at Deer Valley Ski Resort.
A complaint filed by Sanderson’s attorney alleges that Paltrow hit his client from the back, “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,” the complaint claimed. “A Deer Valley ski instructor, who had been training Ms. Paltrow, but who did not see the crash, skied over, saw the injured Sanderson and skied off, falsely accusing Sanderson of having caused the crash. He also failed to send help, as he was obligated to do, and later filed a false report to protect his client, Ms. Paltrow,
“Neither Ms. Paltrow nor Deer Valley lodge personnel notified emergency responders about the injured Dr. Sanderson. They left him at the scene with serious brain injuries caused by Ms. Paltrow,” the complaint stated. “No one from Paltrow’s group, including at least two Deer Valley-employed instructors, bothered to call the ski patrol to assist the severely injured Dr. Sanderson. Later, Deer Valley ski instructor, Eric Christiansen, filled out and signed an incident report falsely stating that Gwyneth Paltrow did not cause the crash even though Mr. Christiansen did not see the crash.”
Besides Paltrow, additional defendants in the case were named as Deer Valley Resort Company, Christiansen, and several other Deer Valley employees. Charges against all except Paltrow were dismissed on Jan. 10 of this year.
Countersuit
Paltrow filed a countersuit against Sanderson. Court documents report Paltrow said she was skiing slowly to stay behind her children, who were receiving skiing instruction further down the mountain. Paltrow’s statement also says Sanderson was skiing behind her, and he hit her in the back.
“Ms. Paltrow did not slam into Plaintiff’s back. Plaintiff slammed into hers,” the statement says. “She did not knock him down. He knocked her down. He was not knocked out. Immediately after the collision, he stood up and addressed Ms. Paltrow. Ms. Paltrow expressed her anger that he ran into her, and he apologized. She did not cause the collision.”
Paltrow also said Christiansen did witness the collision, and immediately checked on Sanderson’s condition.
Paltrow’s counterclaim states that “Plaintiff exhibited no injuries requiring emergent attention. A ski patroller and Deer Valley Resort representative arrived on the scene shortly after the collision, and Plaintiff and his friend assured them that he was fine.”
