Jully
Active member
You gotta wonder what was said during deliberation!
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Vermont Jury Awards Hiker $750k for 5 Hours Trapped on Gondola
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
You gotta wonder what was said during deliberation!
jimmywilson69
Well-known member
Yeah but to award $150k/hr seems pretty outrageous...
Agreed.
If she got on around 3:15 and it shut down at 3:30, how was she "near the summit" when they found her? Even at slow speed the car should have made it a good way down the mountain in 15 minutes. I also still am curious why she didn't have a cell phone with her unless she had no signal, although last I checked K had pretty good cell service coverage. To go hiking by yourself with no form of communication is a bit of negligence on her own part.
Don't get me wrong, I still think Killington has fault here especially since they admitted procedures weren't followed correctly.
SnowRider
New member
Knee jerk reaction, I'm surprised someone so close to the sport would follow through with something like this. An infrequent skier might follow through with a suite, but you'd think she might appreciate everything Killington does for the area, New England ski industry, and general health of the sport. Sure, they're not your local ski hill pinching pennies to stay afloat, but they're still a New England resort that has to deal with intense seasonal fluctuations and high operating costs.
I would have settled for a lifetime season pass.
I would have settled for a lifetime season pass.
jimmywilson69
Well-known member
I just posted something similar on Kzone. It is completely irresponsible to be hiking alone or with people without some sort of communication in this era of technology. When my buddies and I do long back packing trips on the AT we have our cell phones, and an emergency beacon. Beacon sends 3 messages including a 911 message that provides our coordinates. I believe my buddy paid $100 for it.
Exactly. I would love to know why this wasn't settled. Killington is now looking at a $750K bill to the plaintiff, probably 100-200K in legal fees (Maybe more? Maybe less?) plus additional negative publicity. It's possible the plaintiff was unreasonable and refused to settle at a reasonable sum. But if it was Killington that was unreasonable and they played hard ball with the plaintiff, HEADS SHOULD ROLL. Someone bungled this BIG TIME (again, assuming that the plaintiff was not intransigent...)
Jully
Active member
Oh I'm not saying the settlement is justified. Just that mental illness has added complexity that can be easy to overlook/not know about unless you have prior experience/exposure to it. There are many holes in the story for sure. I also am against making a mountain lose that much money because of how fragile the ski industry is at times. Definitely an odd case, but there are inevitably two sides to it.
CoolMike
New member
$750k is peanuts to a corporation like Powdr...I'd guess they are not even worried about it.
They will appeal if the mathematics / finance makes sense (ie: an appeal is positive expected value after accounting for legal fee's).
They will appeal if the mathematics / finance makes sense (ie: an appeal is positive expected value after accounting for legal fee's).
You obviously do not know how cheap POWDR is. And this most likely is being funded by their liability insurer, who will want an appeal rather than paying out $750,000 (or whatever is above and beyond POWDR's deductible/SIR).
mbedle
Well-known member
I actually don't think this is that bad of deal for Killington. Keep in mind that she was not necessarily wearing winter cloths, but actually could have been in shorts and sneakers. Temperatures at the nearest weather station indicated mid 55 in the day, dropping to 41 at night. However that station is not at Killington Peak. So lets say it might have gotten down to the mid 30's at the peak, a couple of hours into this. I, for one, would be shitting my pants if I was stuck on a lift in hiking cloths and the temperature outside was in the 30's.
Hawkshot99
Active member
AdironRider
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
- Messages
- 3,505
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I've shit my pants before and I didn't get paid a cent. Actually cost me a couple bucks in replacement underwear.
Really?!
freeski
New member
If I had to poop in the gondola I would have found a way to throw it out. I can see why she was embarrassed when rescued. Just give her a voucher for a hot chocolate and call it a day.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
Since they apparently conceded liability, I'm not sure what basis they will have to appeal. If the trial was for damages only, there is a lot less potential for a mistake to have been made by the judge.
Where was it listed that they conceded liability?
I imagine that Plaintiff sought punitive damages and the defense will say that this is excessive. That is one avenue for appeal. The other being that I can't imagine that she has any significant meds on this one.
doublediamond
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2013
- Messages
- 454
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- 28
2011. They admitted they fucked up.
VTKilarney
Well-known member
There was no mention of punitive damages, so prevailing on an abuse of discretion standard is a long shot at best.
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maybe her ordeal was "pooh-poohed" by the employees who had to come in that night to op the lift, maybe they weren't sympathetic to her distress, maybe they sent an amateur to mend fences while partly blaming her for the event. would any of this surprise you?
