Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial opens with messy testimonies

Park City, Utah - Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court on Tuesday after being accused of causing a ski accident and then leaving the scene without providing assistance.

Gwyneth Paltrow was in court on Tuesday after being accused of causing a ski accident and then fleeing the scene.
Gwyneth Paltrow was in court on Tuesday after being accused of causing a ski accident and then fleeing the scene.  © AFP/Rick Bowmer

The Iron Man star arrived in a muted beige turtleneck sweater and aviator glasses for her trial, which began on Tuesday in Park City.

A retired optometrist named Terry Sanderson (76) has accused Paltrow of colliding with him and causing him serious injuries while they were both skiing in February 2016, NBC reported.

Paltrow’s attorney, Steve Owens, and Sanderson’s lawyer, Lawrence Buhler, each presented opening arguments to the jury.

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Buhler alleged that Paltrow was looking at her children instead of looking in front of her while she was skiing downhill.

Craig Ramon, the only eyewitness and an acquaintance of Sanderson, told the court, "We were skiing down the run, and I heard this, this scream, and I looked over, and about one or two seconds ... I hear this scream, and I see this skier slam into the back of Terry."

Ramon identified the skier as Paltrow and said she hit Sanderson "hard" before bouncing off him and landing a few feet away.

Owens countered the allegations by restating Paltrow's claim that she was downhill from Sanderson when the accident took place. He also pointed out that Sanderson suffered from previous ailments which may have clouded his memory of the incident, including partial blindness and dementia.

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The plaintiff is demanding more than $300,000 in damages from Gwyneth Paltrow.
The plaintiff is demanding more than $300,000 in damages from Gwyneth Paltrow.  © AFP/Rick Bowmer

The dispute over the ski crash goes back seven years, with both sides giving very different accounts of what happened.

In court documents filed by Sanderson back in 2019, he stated that while skiing at Deer Valley Resort, the actor allegedly "skied out of control … knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, and four broken ribs and other serious injuries."

Paltrow and her ski instructor allegedly continued skiing without attending to the injured man.

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The actor filed a countersuit claiming it was Sanderson who caused the accident.

According to Paltrow's countersuit, she "was enjoying skiing with her family on vacation in Utah, when Plaintiff – who was uphill from Ms. Paltrow – plowed into her back. She sustained a full 'body blow.'"

"Ms. Paltrow was angry with Plaintiff, and said so," the countersuit continues. "Plaintiff apologized. She was shaken and upset, and quit skiing for the day even though it was still morning."

Paltrow is asking for rather symbolic damages of $1 in addition to attorney's fees, while Sanderson is asking for considerably more at $300,000 in damages.

Sanderson originally sought $3.1 million before he amended his complaint.

Cover photo: Collage: AFP/Rick Bowmer

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