Skiing and snowboarding can be inherently dangerous sports, but that does not mean that every injury was unavoidable or the fault of the victim. In reality, many serious injuries that happen while skiing and snowboarding are the result of someone else’s negligence.
Another skier may have put you in a dangerous position through their actions, the resort company may have failed to maintain a marked trail, you could have rented defective equipment, and other such possibilities all mean that someone else may owe you rightful compensation for your injury. With the help of a Chattanooga personal injury lawyer, you can consider these possibilities along with the following information when assembling your injury claim:
Common Skiing and Snowboarding Accidents That Lead to Injuries
The most common winter sports accidents include:
- Falling from a chairlift
- Collisions with objects, such as fences, barriers, signs, trees and debris
- Collisions with other guests
- Accidents resulting from failed equipment
- Accidents resulting from poor instructions by a professional instructor
Assumption of Risk, Waivers, and Other Legal Barriers
The first issue winter sports injury victims may encounter is what is known as the “assumption of risk” principle. This principle states that skiing and snowboarding activities exhibit clear risks to all participants. Moving fast down a slippery hillside greatly increases the risks of injury regardless of the circumstances. The CDC supports this assertion, reporting a connection between traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries and those who participate in winter sports.
At the same time, this “assumption of risk” does not account for unknown factors or factors outside of the norm. For instance, a skier may know that a resort will have hundreds of other guests who they may have to avoid while skiing down a slope. However, they will not know that a particular family would give their six children permission to sit down in the middle of a black diamond slope, causing an unavoidable obstacle that leads to a serious injury.
In that hypothetical example, the family could be potentially held liable for their negligent behavior in endangering a fellow guest. Other times, the resort itself allows exposed rocks or roots along what should be a well-maintained slope, inviting uncommon risks that the injury victim could not predict or assume to be there.
Therefore, winter sports injury victims must provide ample documentation to counteract common defenses like assumption of risk. Their evidence should support the fact that the defending party acted negligently and that this negligence directly caused their injury by creating circumstances outside the norm.
Proving Negligence with a Chattanooga Personal Injury Lawyer
Even if your accident was clearly not your fault, determining whose negligence or actions most contributed to your injury can be difficult without professional legal guidance. For instance, if skiis you rented were defective and caused you to crash, did the defect happen at the factory or as the result of improper maintenance by the resort?
Answering questions like these typically requires having a Chattanooga personal injury lawyer at your side. Use the contact phone number above or the convenient form to the side to tell us about your injury and receive a free case evaluation.
