Vermont Jury Awards Hiker $750k for 5 Hours Trapped on Gondola

thetrailboss · Dec 1, 2016

http://www.wcax.com/story/33844453/vt-jury-awards-woman-trapped-on-ski-gondola-750k

She hopped on the K-1 Gondola at Killington at 3:15pm and it shut down at 3:30pm due to weather. Workers found her five hours later. She sued for PTSD and the jury found for her and awarded her $750,000.

I had heard of a similar instance at Loon a few years back, but I don't think it resulted in a suit.

Puck it · Dec 1, 2016

People need to suck it up and deal. Shit happens. $750K is stupid for something she was in no danger.

Bostonian · Dec 1, 2016

Hell stick me in a gondi for 8 hours... I would love to collect that type of money!

from_the_NEK · Dec 1, 2016

Puck it said:
People need to suck it up and deal. Shit happens. $750K is stupid for something she was in no danger.

But what if she needed to go pee?! :-o:-o

The HORROR!

crank · Dec 1, 2016

IMO they deserve to pay for such a stupid and easily avoidable mistake.

Jully · Dec 1, 2016

Yeah, worth $750K? Not at all, but I don't view it as an award for the individual, I view it as a penalty for the mountain being inane.

SkiFanE · Dec 1, 2016

crank said:
IMO they deserve to pay for such a stupid and easily avoidable mistake.

Agreed. And I think I'd have had major issues being stuck that long in a gondola in the dark in freezing winter weather alone. I'm afraid of heights and after a few hours I would have figured I'd be stuck for night and possibly dead in AM. So I'd be scared, pissed, crying about leaving kids motherless and maybe even have done something stupid to "save" myself but have could have killed myself. So yeah - not worth $750k for that, sorry (lawyers get 40% anyway).

thetrailboss · Dec 1, 2016

crank said:
IMO they deserve to pay for such a stupid and easily avoidable mistake.

So in thinking about this it appears that she got ON at the bottom and did not get OFF. So someone should have noticed that. I assumed she got on at the top to ride down and got stuck without being noticed. But that does not appear to be the case. Yes, someone needed to make sure she got off. Was it worth $750,000? I doubt it. What damages did she suffer really? Does she have preexisting issues?

Tin · Dec 1, 2016

On the bright side they only need to sell a couple baskets of chicken tenders at the Peak View Lodge and maybe a Bloody Mary or two to pay her.

As a psych person I would love to know what quack diagnosed her with PTSD unless that gondi was seriously swinging in the wind.

TheArchitect · Dec 1, 2016

Didn't she have a cell phone? Could have called the local police or the resort itself, right?

cdskier · Dec 1, 2016

TheArchitect said:
Didn't she have a cell phone? Could have called the local police or the resort itself, right?

I was just wondering the same thing...

I think the amount is excessive, but I do think K should have been liable for some penalty as that is definitely their fault and responsibility for not ensuring the cars were all clear.

BenedictGomez · Dec 1, 2016

crank said:
IMO they deserve to pay for such a stupid and easily avoidable mistake.

Then you're part of the problem and not part of the solution.

BenedictGomez · Dec 1, 2016

Puck it said:
People need to suck it up and deal. Shit happens. $750K is stupid for something she was in no danger.

When is the appeal?

Because there's no way Killington is going to shell out $750,000 simply because an attorney got lucky and found 12 of the dumbest Vermonters in existence.

SkiingInABlueDream · Dec 1, 2016

I think there's too much information missing in that story to be able to draw any conclusion. enough to get ppl talking and/or pissed off, not enough to base a sound conclusion.

This exemplifies why I generally hate the news.

thetrailboss · Dec 1, 2016

skifastr said:
I think there's too much information missing in that story to be able to draw any conclusion. enough to get ppl talking and/or pissed off, not enough to base a sound conclusion.

This exemplifies why I generally hate the news.

I wonder if the Rutland Herald covered this trial....and they did but the article is behind a paywall.

thetrailboss · Dec 1, 2016

Here are more facts. She DID board at the SUMMIT after the lift had closed. Killington initially said she opened the door herself. That later was not true.

Still trying to figure out how she could be "near the summit" when the lift stopped about 15 mins after she boarded. Must have been running really slowly.

http://www.saminfo.com/headline-news/8766-jury-awards-750-000-to-woman-who-was-stranded-on-gondola

Quietman · Dec 1, 2016

This reminds me of debates that I had when I worked lift ops. I always prefered to be able to download the top attendant at the end of the night, because if no one was riding my lift, I would tell them to hop on the lift as soon right at closing time and in 10 minutes he/she would be down and I could leave. But one of the managers insisted that the top attendants be snowmobiled down as he didn't want a lift running without someone up top in case some idiot decided to hop on the lift at the top. As my lift was always the last to be dealt with, this took 30-40 minutes. Now I can understand his point somewhat. I would agree that leaving a running gondola station unattended is not the best choice.

zoomzoom · Dec 1, 2016

lift closing procedures are precisely written to prevent these situations. a typical policy would be that a "last cabin" marker is placed upon a cabin at both the lower and upper terminals. the operators would monitor their stations to ensure that no-one boards the lift while the "last cabin" markers are in transit. once these markers are received, dispatch is notified that the "line is clear" and the ops are free to depart their station.

they are not to have their heads down while writing daily reports, go up into the terminal to adjust the heaters/install the grounding rods or otherwise prep the lift for downtime.

these events are not unheard of, and customers who "hop on" an up-going chair for the last ride up will get stranded. they're usually found by a night groomer during his shift. gotta call in a couple of ops from home to re-start the lift or maybe an evac crew, whatever is faster/safer. have heard of a situation where the stranded passenger was freezing and elected to jump. not good.

these events will happen annually somewhere in vt but never make the paper, though. usually a lifetime pass will suffice, but not this time.

bdfreetuna · Dec 1, 2016

I'll do the overnight gondola challenge for $500.

bdfreetuna · Dec 1, 2016

oompaloompa said:
these events will happen annually somewhere in vt but never make the paper, though. usually a lifetime pass will suffice, but not this time.

Usually people don't get "PTSD" from moderately stressful, albeit unusual circumstances-.

Vermont Jury Awards Hiker $750k for 5 Hours Trapped on Gondola

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