Ski injury - WWYD

[MuirWannabe]

OP if the circumstances were reserved what do you think your position would be.

Well, I’d feel pretty bad about it. Would likely be good with helping out on costs associated with any injury. Probably would engage my liability insurance since that’s why I carry it. Would want to deal with it person to person. If lawyers got involved that changes everything including my response.

I’m assuming you meant reversed and not reserved.

 

[MichaelB]

Well, I’d feel pretty bad about it. Would likely be good with helping out on costs associated with any injury. Probably would engage my liability insurance since that’s why I carry it. Would want to deal with it person to person. If lawyers got involved that changes everything including my response.

I’m assuming you meant reversed and not reserved.

It’s possible the kids parents are homeowners with some liability coverage that would have covered any costs, but they aren’t thinking and just went into full defensive mode.

I suspect any chance you had of pursuing compensation was lost when no witness statements were taken. If you have their contact info you could consider writing to the family and sharing your view that you thought the boy was reckless but at least owned up to it, and the parents subsequent counsel was irresponsible and a bad example.

 

[aaronc879]

I have never been skiing do don't know much about how things work but thus seems like an accident that wasn't really anyone's fault. This is why you have insurance. I would not involve the other person.

 

[glax]

No report

I think you might be out of luck since a report was not filed based on the Skier Safety Act in Colorado. By buying a lift ticket, you agree to these rules.

You can find the whole thing by searching, but here is a bit:

(10) No skier involved in a collision with another skier or person in which an injury results shall leave
the vicinity of the collision before giving his or her name and current address to an employee of the ski
area operator or a member of the ski patrol, except for the purpose of securing aid for a person injured in
the collision; in which event the person so leaving the scene of the collision shall give his or her name and
current address as required by this subsection (10) after securing such aid.
(11) No person shall knowingly enter upon public or private lands from an adjoining ski area when
such land has been closed by its owner and so posted by the owner or by the ski area operator pursuant
to section 33-44-107 (6).
(12) Any person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (3), (9), (10), or (11) of this section
is guilty of a class 2 petty offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more
than one thousand dollars.

 

[indiajust]

The fine print on ski/board passes preclude legal action. I lack a knee, so I can't ski, but boarding is fine with the bad leg back. Limits to backside visibility are the problem.

 

[Powderjunkie]

Sorry to hear about your experience at Breck. I would pursue the matter through your insurance company first to see what they will do. It should not be too hard for them (or you) to find out who the parents are since you have his first/last name, email address and more than likely he was on an Epic Pass which means you (or an insurance company/atty) should be able to get his parents contact information through Vail Resorts.

While skiing can be a risky sport that does not absolve participants of responsibility especially as it relates to the adhering the Skiers and Snowboarders Code. Just as other things in life are risky (e.g. driving, riding a bike, flying) that does not absolve people/companies from being responsible. The waiver people sign or agree to when they buy a ticket relates to the ski resort not to other skiers. I hope your recovery goes well and you are able to get back out on the slopes soon!

 

[dianinco]

Yikes

Coming from a skiing family and I have 5 grandkids skiing today, this makes me nervous. Only one is a snowboarder but s#*T happens. He is only 10 so has lots of years ahead of him. I think I’ll tell his mom to check and see if she can get some type of liability insurance on him. My husband was hit by a boarder 35 yrs ago. Broke some ribs. As often happens the boarder took off. I say give the kid some credit for stopping and taking responsibility. But then again I sit here with good healthcare coverage. Do you know you can get accident insurance for stuff like this for $10/mo. My daughter has it on her HS athlete. I think the deductible is 250.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Coming from a skiing family and I have 5 grandkids skiing today, this makes me nervous. Only one is a snowboarder but s#*T happens. He is only 10 so has lots of years ahead of him. I think I’ll tell his mom to check and see if she can get some type of liability insurance on him. My husband was hit by a boarder 35 yrs ago. Broke some ribs. As often happens the boarder took off. I say give the kid some credit for stopping and taking responsibility. But then again I sit here with good healthcare coverage. Do you know you can get accident insurance for stuff like this for $10/mo. My daughter has it on her HS athlete. I think the deductible is 250.

I too have 5 grandkids who ski. I’d never considered accident insurance but it’s an interesting thought to suggest to my daughters for their consideration. Does the accident insurance cover you in the event you or your children cause the accident (liability)? Or is it for you if you are injured by another in an accident? Or both?

I do give the young man credit for taking responsibility at the moment. Not sure what message his parents are sending him, although it’s not hard to understand what they may be concerned about. My injury does require surgery although the doctor anticipates a pretty successful recovery. I’m under the knife this upcoming Tuesday. I don’t know the total, but ballpark guess is I’ll be OOP some $7000 thanks to my high deductible. So, some kind of help from the kids parents would’ve been nice in my eyes. Although it’s not going to happen.

 

[youbet]

It’s possible the kids parents are homeowners with some liability coverage that would have covered any costs, but they aren’t thinking and just went into full defensive mode.

I suspect any chance you had of pursuing compensation was lost when no witness statements were taken. If you have their contact info you could consider writing to the family and sharing your view that you thought the boy was reckless but at least owned up to it, and the parents subsequent counsel was irresponsible and a bad example.

I'm looking at the back of my State Farm automobile insurance card.

Don't admit fault or discuss the accident with anyone but State Farm or police.

I know that statement is written for auto accidents and we're discussing a sports accident. Still, I wonder what the young man's parent's insurance company would say if they are contacted by OP's lawyer or OP's insurance company and admission of guilt and some informal payments have already been made?

As it stands at this moment, I think OP's situation is a bit confusing and up in the air. When he asks for opinions on how to go forward, it's a more involved question than I thought when I first read it. Proper documentation at the time of the accident could have prevented much of this and I'm making a mental note to myself should I ever be in similar circumstances.

Most importantly, i hope OP has no lingering problems. Maybe we'll get an update soon.

Edit: I see OP and I were typing at the same time. Sorry to hear you'll need surgery but glad a good outcome is forecast.

 

[MuirWannabe]

As it stands at this moment, I think OP's situation is a bit confusing and up in the air. When he asks for opinions on how to go forward, it's a more involved question than I thought when I first read it. Proper documentation at the time of the accident could have prevented much of this and I'm making a mental note to myself should I ever be in similar circumstances.

Most importantly, i hope OP has no lingering problems. Maybe we'll get an update soon.

Youbet,
I just posted an update right prior to your post. Thanks for the well wishes. Doctor thinks my lingering problems will be from arthritis in the shoulder which apparently showed on MRI. I’ve never felt arthritis pain there, but he thinks the injury could make it more prominent. But who knows?

No doubt, taking the stretcher ride down with ski patrol and the young man would have been helpful towards the purposes of documentation. If I had it to do over again maybe I’d do that. I’m not certain. At the time I was sorta in shock and just trying to process what happened and move forward.

My thoughts never have been to nail anybody’s butt to the wall over this. Just for some potentially helpful assistance since there was fault. But that just gets too complicated too quickly to have been a reasonable expectation.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

Heh. Lunch at The Stein Erickson Lodge Skiers Buffet always set us back $300. Stein even joined us one year. We'd spend the whole afternoon getting hammered on bottles of wine.

I never ate there, but googling it ... looks good.

We always stay in SLC area (again, cheap is us) and usually when I am done skiing, I'm lucky to make it to the Chuck-A-Rama Buffet in Murray.

Then again, these attributes are part of the reason I've been FI since 2008 or so. (I would have said FIRE but just retired from my 2nd career full-time professor teaching gig.)

 

[dianinco]

I too have 5 grandkids who ski. I’d never considered accident insurance but it’s an interesting thought to suggest to my daughters for their consideration. Does the accident insurance cover you in the event you or your children cause the accident (liability)? Or is it for you if you are injured by another in an accident? Or both?

I do give the young man credit for taking responsibility at the moment. Not sure what message his parents are sending him, although it’s not hard to understand what they may be concerned about. My injury does require surgery although the doctor anticipates a pretty successful recovery. I’m under the knife this upcoming Tuesday. I don’t know the total, but ballpark guess is I’ll be OOP some $7000 thanks to my high deductible. So, some kind of help from the kids parents would’ve been nice in my eyes. Although it’s not going to happen.

The insurance does not cover liability. Pretty much just covers accidents for the insured person. For some reason her volleyball/basketball playing daughter is injury prone, two shoulders, a wrist and 3 fingers. When looking for new insurance last year with a lower deductible her agent suggested this accident insurance for her. It’s been working out.

 

[Badger]

I used to ski and had the opportunity to ski a number of different places starting around 1990 in the US and Canada for a number of years. I had a few close calls from both skiers and snowboarders and decided years ago it was no longer fun trying to dodge them. Mostly it was snowboarders but occasionally it was inexperienced skiers. If the larger ski resorts would designate runs for skiers and snowboarders that would alternate each week I might have continued a little longer but too late for me now anyway.

 

[pacergal]

OP--
Best wishes for a speedy recovery from your upcoming surgery.
My SIL taught skiing many years ago, he has tried several times to get me up on the mountain. No go for me!

 

[CO-guy]

To add to the conversation, in Colorado, skiers/snowboarders can be held both criminally and civilly liable for injuries to others.
https://chalatlaw.com/skilaw/ski-law-by-state/colorado-ski-law/
I agree with the advice of others to let the insurance company deal with it, but if $7K is going to make a dent, then consider contacting an attorney for assistance with damages for medical costs, pain and suffering.

The kids parents are wise to tell him to stop communicating with you because they could be on the hook for a huge settlement.

 

[MuirWannabe]

In case anyone is interested.

I received a surprise call this afternoon from USAA. They were responding to a claim filed by the family of the young man who injured me. Apparently they have USAA for their homeowner insurance and the claim was filed through that policy.

They made a recording of my version of events. Told me they would have a ruling by end of February.

The whole thing surprised me. I have USAA for my insurance, so I spent a couple minutes at the beginning not understanding why USAA was calling me. I’m glad the other family reported the incident to their insurance. They may have been concerned I was gonna come with lawyers blazing. Which wasn’t ever the case.

Not sure what about homeowners insurance covers ski accidents, but I guess something about it does. Who knows, maybe I will get some of my OOP medical expenses covered.

 

[RunningBum]

The whole thing surprised me. I have USAA for my insurance, so I spent a couple minutes at the beginning not understanding why USAA was calling me. I’m glad the other family reported the incident to their insurance. They may have been concerned I was gonna come with lawyers blazing. Which wasn’t ever the case.

Or maybe they wanted to do the right thing by you, and get your medical expenses paid.

Consider that the kid did the right thing ethically by stopping, giving his number, and admitting fault. He learned that from somewhere. His dad took a beating here for telling the son to cut off communications, but that's what insurance companies tell you to do. Seems that he wasn't doing it to stiff you though. He did the right thing ethically by contacting his insurance and giving them your info.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Or maybe they wanted to do the right thing by you, and get your medical expenses paid.

Consider that the kid did the right thing ethically by stopping, giving his number, and admitting fault. He learned that from somewhere. His dad took a beating here for telling the son to cut off communications, but that's what insurance companies tell you to do. Seems that he wasn't doing it to stiff you though. He did the right thing ethically by contacting his insurance and giving them your info.

Let me be the first to agree with you. I don’t know if that’s their motivation, but I do like going with that assumption. Thanks.

 

[street]

I hope you get what is coming to you with a shake of fairness. This has been an interesting learning thread. I hope to hear a verdict when the dust clears with your case.

 

[skyking1]

Glad you got that call, OP.
I have witnessed a few bad crashes like that. My cousin was just standing off to the side one day and an out of control young skiier fell and took him out, with the sharp edge of the ski slicing him just above the boot. Several stitches later his day was over.
I have seen the snowboard collarbone break too. I stayed around to help.
i

 

[pb4uski]

Or maybe they wanted to do the right thing by you, and get your medical expenses paid.

Consider that the kid did the right thing ethically by stopping, giving his number, and admitting fault. He learned that from somewhere. His dad took a beating here for telling the son to cut off communications, but that's what insurance companies tell you to do. Seems that he wasn't doing it to stiff you though. He did the right thing ethically by contacting his insurance and giving them your info.

+1 but they could have let the OP know that they were reporting the accident to their insurer as a courtesy heads-up, but perhaps they were unsure if USAA would do anything with it and didn't want to have the OP get hopes up.

 

[Sunset]

I suppose the opposite view would be they contacted USAA as the kid is emotionally damaged from the accident and needs counseling and a new board as it got scratched up