When a person goes skiing or engages in another snow-related activity at a ski resort, it’s understood that they accept the risks that come along with that activity. Ski resorts require people to sign broad liability waivers that protect the business from lawsuits should someone crash into a tree or another skier or take a nasty fall on the slopes or from a chairlift.
These broad waivers are supported by laws like the Colorado Ski Safety Act and the Passenger Tramway Safety Act. This year, however, a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court paved the way for plaintiffs to move forward with such a lawsuit – and likely for more lawsuits in the future.
The case heard by the high court
The case that made it to the state’s highest court involved a teen who slipped out of a chairlift at the Crested Butte Mountain Resort and fell 30 feet to the hardpacked snow below. She suffered serious injuries to her vertebrae, heart, liver and lung and is paralyzed at the waist.
According to the lawsuit, the teen couldn’t get properly seated in the lift. It says the ski lift wasn’t sufficiently staffed and that the operator failed to stop the lift – even though other skiers tried to alert him — before the teen slid off. The suit claimed that the resort “consciously and recklessly disregarded the safety” of the victim.
Two types of negligence
The plaintiffs contend that the laws giving resort broad liability waivers don’t apply in this case because the fall was caused by the resort’s negligence. The majority of the Court agreed. The justices differentiated between two types of negligence: negligence-highest duty (which includes the duties of care required by law) and negligence per se (“in itself”), which they determined isn’t covered under those protective laws.
The ruling allows the plaintiffs to return to the district court to argue their case. Not surprisingly, those who own and operate ski resorts and other businesses that involve risky activities like ziplining, mountain biking and more say they’ll have to raise prices and/or limit participants (for example, exclude children and others who may be at greater risk of injury).
This ruling can make it easier to hold a resort or other business liable for injuries suffered because of risky or negligent actions by the business or its employees. That doesn’t mean taking on one of these businesses – particularly a large, well-funded one, will be easy. Having experienced legal guidance can be key to a successful claim.