A 46 year-old female ski instructor, who suffered with several shattered bones and endured a lengthy rehabilitation after being struck by an uphill skier, is seeking over $100,000 in a personal injury lawsuit that cites the Colorado Ski Safety Act, as reported by the Aspen Daily News.
The victim, Aspen resident S.K., has named Virginia resident, C.B., as responsible for causing the ski accident on Aspen Mountain on March 23, 2011 that left her with 19 fractured bones.
S.K. is co-plaintiff along with her husband, A.K. The suit was filed in Pitkin County District Court on April 6 and seeks a trial by jury.
On the day of the accident, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Aspen ski instructor S.K. was skiing on the Little Nell run. As she entered the slow-skiing zone, on the right-hand side of the run and entering the gondola plaza, she spied C.B. skiing down towards her.
S.K., wearing a clearly visible coral-red colored jacket, saw the defendant make a turn and then loose control. The suit states, "As Ms. (S.K.) approached gondola plaza, she looked behind and saw a man in dark clothes heading straight toward her..."
S.K.'s attorney, Hal Haddon, said in the suit that there was a witness to the accident – a man in the Silver Queen Gondola.
Haddon wrote in the lawsuit, "The defendant was about 100 feet above Ms. (S.K.) and 30 feet to her left. (C.B. was)…leaning backward with his hands above his head" and then proceeded to ski into S.K. "with great force."
Members of the ski patrol removed S.K., unconscious, from the mountain. She was at first taken to Aspen Valley Hospital and later transferred to Denver's Swedish Memorial Hospital. S.K. spent a week at Swedish Memorial before being transferred again, this time to recuperate in a Glenwood Springs nursing home for two more weeks.
From there she spent the month of April 2011 at home, bedridden.
In all, S.K. suffered with several broken ribs in her back, pelvic fractures, several compound tibia and fibula fractures and a deflated lung. She now has permanent plates, rods and pins in her leg and pelvis. She also may require both knee and shoulder replacements in the future.
The lawsuit reads, "As a result of the collision, Ms. (S.K.) lives in constant pain, suffering, inconvenience and emotional distress. Her ability to walk is limited, and she cannot resume her normal activities. Her quality of life has been permanently impaired."
In response to the lawsuit C.B. said, "We certainly have our own perspective" and that he would be discussing the case with his own attorney before commenting further.
The lawsuit claims that C.B. breached the legal duty of care owed to the victim and of violating the Colorado Ski Safety Act that "imposes upon an uphill skier a primary duty to yield to and avoid collision with any person below."
If you have been injured, by the fault of another person or persons, you need to contact a personal injury lawyer and file a lawsuit. There is no reason for you to suffer with pain or mounting medical bills when someone else is responsible for inflicting your damage.