Gwyneth Paltrow Deer Valley Collision and Trial

[Nancy Hummel]

This is way more true in chaotic and high stress situations like violent crimes. A couple people willy wallying along a beginner slope who happed to somehow collide doesn't seem like that kind of phenomenon is as likely.

What is true though is that slow moving crashes on rock hard refrozen beginner slopes hurt more than going down at 30 mph on something steeper. Was the guy wearing a helmet? The actual incident probably looked mostly benign. But hitting the ground like that at age 70+ and bones can definitely break.

I would argue that people who are enjoying a ski day are not really focused on what is actually going on around them other than to not hit someone else. There was something I read where the guy who was with the plaintiff did not show up to the scene until 45 seconds after the collision. Perhaps people "Think" they saw something but memories are tricky things.

 

[TonyPlush]

It's a he said/she said case. If I had to pick a side, I'd say he is more believable than she is. But I am not sure I'd be convinced enough to find in judgement against her if I were on the jury.

I guess the reason I kinda lean towards his side of the story is that she left the scene. I do kinda fault Paltrow for leaving. He did break four ribs and had a concussion, which nobody disputes. You don't leave an accident if that happens. If I'm involved in an accident and the other party appears injured in any way, even if I am in no way to blame, I am not leaving until ski patrol is there and I have told them what I think happened. Actually, especially if I am not to blame I would stick around. I'd want to avoid just such an outcome where the other party talks a big story about how I whacked them out of nowhere and then skied off. If I'm not there, then at least one part of that story checks out and appears credible.

Edit:

I'll go ahead and note that he is not exactly a sympathetic plaintiff, and there are plenty of valid reasons to question his motivations, in part due to some of his own actions afterwards. So yeah, I think if I am a juror I just want a week of my life back and to be allowed to go home.

I got pulled into this rabbit hole of a time-sink.

Interestingly, the ski instructor testified that the plaintiff said he wasn't hurt and didn't need assistance. Ski patrol showed up immediately and helped the guy get his skies back on and ski down the hill. So, it seems he looked to be in better shape than he was, considering the broken ribs/concussion.

 

[tball]

When a bunch of Internet critics can't decide fault between red and grey based on an actual video, how will they prove anything in this trial based on fallible human recollection?

 

[clong83]

I got pulled into this rabbit hole of a time-sink.

Interestingly, the ski instructor testified that the plaintiff said he wasn't hurt and didn't need assistance. Ski patrol showed up immediately and helped the guy get his skies back on and ski down the hill. So, it seems he looked to be in better shape than he was, considering the broken ribs/concussion.

I still think I'd wait for ski patrol to show up and/or for the other skier to get up and demonstrate they are unhurt to me by gathering their stuff and we ski off simultaneously. People in shock often don't realize how badly they are injured. Granted, maybe Paltrow doesn't know that or shouldn't be expected to know that.

But yeah, if ski patrol also just let him go on his merry way without concern, then maybe he was somehow convincingly lucid.

The whole thing is just weird. Having broken ribs while skiing on a couple of different occasions, I can say that it is something you can ski away from, yes, but it is also something where you know something is wrong. It hurts. A lot.

 

[teejaywhy]

When a bunch of Internet critics can't decide fault between red and grey based on an actual video, how will they prove anything in this trial based on fallible human recollection?

Wait, what video is being discussed?

 

[RobSN]

Interestingly, the ski instructor testified that the plaintiff said he wasn't hurt and didn't need assistance. Ski patrol showed up immediately and helped the guy get his skies back on and ski down the hill. So, it seems he looked to be in better shape than he was, considering the broken ribs/concussion.

Well as I discovered this last week, you can ski off with the adrenaline pumping thinking you're ok, only to find out that you are not nearly as ok once things calm down. Admittedly, I didn't have broken ribs last week, but I did get up from a bike accident once with a broken collarbone and carry on, and it wasn't until much later that I realized that something was pretty wrong with me!

 

[BLiP]

This is way more true in chaotic and high stress situations like violent crimes. A couple people willy wallying along a beginner slope who happed to somehow collide doesn't seem like that kind of phenomenon is as likely.

You may think this, but my experience tells me that you are wrong. People easily forget and/or misremember particularly the more that time passes. Regardless of whether the event is “chaotic” or routine. Its not a phenomenon, it’s reality.

 

[Jwrags]

I’m curious how in the world he knew it was Paltrow that was involved in the collision? Helmet, ski goggles, ski clothes and she supposedly did not stick around. I probably would not recognize her walking down the street let alone in full ski gear.

 

[fatbob]

I’m curious how in the world he knew it was Paltrow that was involved in the collision? Helmet, ski goggles, ski clothes and she supposedly did not stick around. I probably would not recognize her walking down the street let alone in full ski gear.

Presumably she scatters a trail of VJJ eggs behind her.

 

[TonyPlush]

I’m curious how in the world he knew it was Paltrow that was involved in the collision? Helmet, ski goggles, ski clothes and she supposedly did not stick around. I probably would not recognize her walking down the street let alone in full ski gear.

I believe the original reports claimed the ski instructor skied down and screamed at him that he just took out Gwyneth Paltrow. (More likely is that Paltrow's ski instructor filled out a report incident naming Paltrow in the accident, and presumably the guy came back in the following days requesting all the info they had about the accident.)

I got pulled into this rabbit hole of a time-sink.

Interestingly, the ski instructor testified that the plaintiff said he wasn't hurt and didn't need assistance. Ski patrol showed up immediately and helped the guy get his skies back on and ski down the hill. So, it seems he looked to be in better shape than he was, considering the broken ribs/concussion.

Also worth noting that although the instructor says ski patrol helped the guy get his skis back on, the guy was adamant in his testimony that his skis never came off. He was more confident in this answer than any of his other answers. Then again, the guy also claims that part of his brain damage is poor memory. Which just goes to show what a mess this whole case seems to be.

 

[BLiP]

Cases like this make me consider wearing a GoPro. I'm having a hard time balancing the potential shame/ridicule of being a GoPro Bro versus the benefit of having proof if I get hit by a Hollywood lifestyle guru.

 

[Seldomski]

Cases like this make me consider wearing a GoPro. I'm having a hard time balancing the potential shame/ridicule of being a GoPro Bro versus the benefit of having proof if I get hit by a Hollywood lifestyle guru.

You would want something like a dash cam. It continuously records, but only saves when it registers an event (usually triggered by an accelerometer going to some value).

 

[Sibhusky]

Wait, what video is being discussed?

An EpicSki classic. Red and grey.

 

[neonorchid]

I’m curious how in the world he knew it was Paltrow that was involved in the collision? Helmet, ski goggles, ski clothes and she supposedly did not stick around. I probably would not recognize her walking down the street let alone in full ski gear.

Presumably she scatters a trail of VJJ eggs behind her.

Presumably it was the this smells like my vagina roll on scent behind her.

 

[SBrown]

An EpicSki classic. Red and grey.

C'mon, post the video!!

 

[Sibhusky]

C'mon, post the video!!

Being as how Epic is long gone, finding it on YouTube would take up more time than I feel like spending. Be my guest.

 

[SBrown]

Being as how Epic is long gone, finding it on YouTube would take up more time than I feel like spending. Be my guest.

Thanks but no thanks! I think everything possible to be said was said already...

 

[Seldomski]

Saw some very oblivious folk at DV past three days skiing there. Not sure what it is, but seems people there are below average in situational awareness relative to other places I have skied (bar is pretty low there BTW, but DV limbos under it). Or maybe it's just the general layout amplifies these issues? Multiple lifts converging/diverging from flat areas where behind/ahead/downhill skier designations are completely inadequate to describe right of way.

Petition: rename "Bandana" to "Paltrow's Derby"

 

[Jwrags]

Presumably it was the this smells like my vagina roll on scent behind her.

Now that I clicked on your link I can’t wait to see what ads pop up in my feed now

 

[TonyPlush]

I believe the original reports claimed the ski instructor skied down and screamed at him that he just took out Gwyneth Paltrow. (More likely is that Paltrow's ski instructor filled out a report incident naming Paltrow in the accident, and presumably the guy came back in the following days requesting all the info they had about the accident.)

Also worth noting that although the instructor says ski patrol helped the guy get his skis back on, the guy was adamant in his testimony that his skis never came off. He was more confident in this answer than any of his other answers. Then again, the guy also claims that part of his brain damage is poor memory. Which just goes to show what a mess this whole case seems to be.

Other interesting facts I picked up while wasting my time watching this trash: (the testimonies of Paltrow, the plaintiff, and the ski instructor)

• The plaintiff guy (guy) considered himself an advanced intermediate who skied 2-3 days per week for 30+ years. His testimony humble bragged about keeping up with his ski patrol friends who gave him tours of various mountains. Said he could ski most anything except cliffs.
• It was the guy's first day ever at Deer Valley.
• The guy testified that he was 5'5" and 155 lbs, but his discovery/deposition (I'm not a lawyer so probably mixing up terms) claimed 5'8" and 180 lbs. (Plaintiffs made a big deal about Paltrow's 5'10" frame being bigger than him, as if that somehow impacts who's at fault...)
• The guy said he got off the groomer and into the bumps / off piste to avoid beginners.
• The ski instructor's animated recreation shows the crash happening on the edge of the groomer.
• The ski instructor was actually Paltrow's kid's ski instructor. She wasn't included in the lesson.
• The guy says he heard Paltrow scream before she hit him directly from behind, knocking him unconscious for anywhere from 5 seconds to 10 minutes.
• Paltrow says she was hit by him skiing across the front of her skis, which opened up her legs and forced her to crash.
• Paltrow not so subtly accused him of sexually assaulting her because he was rustling and moaning while on top and/or behind her.
• The ski instructor said he first observed the guy as the uphill skier, but the instructor admitted he was not watching when the crash occurred.
• Instructor said the guy was behind Paltrow when he skied up to them on the ground.
• Lawyers on all sides come across looking like buffoons. Plaintiff's lawyer had lots of awkward conversation as she joked around with Paltrow, while Paltrow's lawyer comes across as the guy who forgot to study for the test.

...and that's enough entertainment for me for the day.