Loon Ski Instructor Sues Another Skier: You be the Jury.

[dmc]

[But the "SmartStyle" code says "Do not jump blindly and use a spotter when necessary"

Which is STILL a gray area... When exactly is it necessary?

Agreed. Vague article on the facts...good old Boston Globe.

I boldened the word, "blindly," because didn't she jump blindly in this case?

But if someone stops below where they can't be seen - it's their fault too... According to the code..

I don't know if she was jumping or not.. I dont no enough about the case..

 

[Rushski]

Sucks she pushed teeth thru her lips and all, gruesome. But she can't sue for a non-existent career. I would like to have Bill Gates job, but can't think of who to sue because I'll never get there...

Must have found out the teen was from Boxford $$$$ before she filed the suit.

Lucky for Loon the teen's parents don't countersue tem over the partially-negligent instructor.

 

[Stephen]

Lucky for Loon the teen's parents don't countersue tem over the partially-negligent instructor.

They probably quietly settled out of court... and the public's eye.

-Stephen

 

[dmc]

They probably quietly settled out of court... and the public's eye.

Thats exactly what Hunter Mountain does...
I knew a guy(now an exfriend) who sued Hunter. He was a great skier and just fell and slide into the woods and hurt himself... Sued Hunter for not marking a knoll or some BS...
They gave him some cash and told him never to come back or he'd be trespassing...

 

[ctenidae]

I just hope the little girl is cuter than the "model", so the jury will find for the defendant. Otherwise it'll be like the woman in Ohio (I think) who went wading through a fountain that someone had soaped- 8 foot pile of suds, her 4 friends wouldn't go in and warned her not to. The woman banged her shin up on the edge of the fountain, and since she had diabetes she ended up having it amputated. The jury found the city to be 80% at fault, to the tune of something like 3/4 million bucks. I don't have a lot of faith in juries on this sort of thing. Hopefully the little girl's family isn't too rich.

 

[riverc0il]

The accident, according to Walker, has ruined her chances of modeling by leaving her with a scar on her lip, a limp, and low self-esteem.

low self-esteem, huh? i wonder why, jeez...

''I just don't look the same," said Walker, who broke into tears.

cry me a river.

this obviously is about money and the former ski instructor should be assamed of herself for this law suit styled money grab attempt. she should be glad she didn't kill someone or herself in this accident. if you're trying to take air (which she says she was), you don't do it near a trail intersection and you don't take a hit without knowing what is on the other side, especially if there is an intersection. the fact that she said she couldn't stop says a lot to me, she put herself in a situation in which should couldn't avoid something unexpected. sometimes folks do silly things at intersections and put themselves in dangerous places, but it is ALWAYS the uphill skier's responsibility to be looking out for downhill skiers and slowing when approaching a trail merger. i think a reverse law suit would stand more chance, but clearly this is not enough evidence to hold either at fault in the legal sense of the word fault. though i think this ski instructor should remove herself permanently from instructing if this is her attitude, it's clearly all about her.

 

[riverc0il]

one additional point regarding my own experience and hitting lips and what not. i have approached lips slowly and side stepped back up the mountain to take the hit to verify no one was below the lip. yea, it was a bummer not just taking it full out but it was the safe and proper thing to do.

the article did not indicate this was in a park, but taking a hit in a park without someone below the hit seems irresponsible to me (i do not frequent parks though, fwiw). who knows what could be on the other side of the kicker, those mounds of snow block out a lot of line of vision.

 

[NHpowderhound]

If it wasn't for lawyers, you'd never need one.
((*
*))NHPH

 

[dmc]

the article did not indicate this was in a park, but taking a hit in a park without someone below the hit seems irresponsible to me (i do not frequent parks though, fwiw). who knows what could be on the other side of the kicker, those mounds of snow block out a lot of line of vision.

fwiw... I do occasionally frequent the park...
What happens in the park is different from your freeskiing world. So Allow me to clarify.

You should scope out features to understand the landings - always...

People in parks wait for the person in front to clear out before hitting a tabletop... You dont need a spotter because you watch the person on the feature... If they clear out - you shout your intention "DROPPING" and head down... If someone is coming in from the sides you can see them.. Then you should promptly curse them out for being a gaper...

Nothing makes me madder then a dad with his two kids going straight down a 1/2 pipe without announcing.. It's pretty dangerous...

 

[smootharc]

Uh, dude....Scot Schmidt said it better....

I dissown friends that sue ski areas...

....in, I believe, "License to Thrill"....whilst on a train in France, heading to Chamonix...."People who sue ski areas in America should be shot...".

Actually created a bit of a s-storm when that came out.


Quick soapbox rant:

How long is the average modeling career, anyways ? It's like a double-A baseball career. Five years making peanuts, then scratch your head and realize perhaps studying a bit harder, with focus, might have been a good thing....

Feel bad for everyone...but voice inside tells me the instructor is in the wrong. But she shouldn't be shot.... :wink:

 

[Strat]

I hate people...

Clearly this instructor should shut her mouth and go find something better to do then sue people that she was too reckless to watch out for... they never said the girl was stopped anyway, so she clearly had the right of way, and it's not her fault this crazy b!tch decided to come careening over a headwall...

 

[Lostone]

But the "SmartStyle" code says "Do not jump blindly and use a spotter when necessary"
Which is STILL a gray area... When exactly is it necessary?

When you can't see people in front of you, on the trail, it is necessary.

From the article:

had an expert slope to herself as she skied down Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., practicing her jumps.
But as Walker came over a crest on the Board Park trail, she said, a 14-year-old girl was skiing across her path, leaving her with no chance to avoid a violent collision that she said has changed her life.

No question at all, to me. She was at fault. She's taking jumps with nobody to clear them without being able to see people in front of her on the trail? She's at fault.

The girl was skiing on the trail in front of her, she hits the girl and blames her? You don't ski looking up. It is the uphill skier who must watch for those below.

 

[dmc]

But the "SmartStyle" code says "Do not jump blindly and use a spotter when necessary"
Which is STILL a gray area... When exactly is it necessary?

When you can't see people in front of you, on the trail, it is necessary.

I disagree... I don't think it's as cut and dry as that..

If that were the case - why didn't they just say it?

 

[ctenidae]

I have not lost all faith in the American jury system:

A federal jury found yesterday that Sarah Walker, an aspiring model and ski instructor, was mostly to blame for a skiing accident at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., and refused to award her any money for injuries she said had derailed her modeling career.



http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma.../30/ski_crash_of_models_own_fault_jury_finds/

 

[thetrailboss]

Ah, good to see. Watch her appeal...

 

[Rushski]

Excellent verdict.

Next they'll get Michael jackson on all 10 counts of...

...My bad.

 

[Lostone]

If that were the case - why didn't they just say it?

Because that is not the only time that you need a spotter. It is only one of the most obvious. Why? Because you might hit someone on the other side of the jump.

 

[dmc]

If that were the case - why didn't they just say it?

Because that is not the only time that you need a spotter. It is only one of the most obvious. Why? Because you might hit someone on the other side of the jump.

When else would you need a spotter...?

I'm being serious here...

 

[ctenidae]

Maybe this girl ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4626823.stm#update3) can set up a pair of ski goggles with a downhill tracking system- No spotter needed!

 

[thetrailboss]

Maybe this girl ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4626823.stm#update3) can set up a pair of ski goggles with a downhill tracking system- No spotter needed!

:lol: