Draper Ski and Snowboard Accident Attorney
Skiing and snowboarding are essential aspects of Utah’s tourist industry, with at least 15 major ski resorts operating during the winter months. Utah residents and visitors alike know that winter activities such as skiing and snowboarding carry inherent risks, but ski resorts have a legal obligation to avoid making these activities any more dangerous than they already are.
When a ski or snowboard injury directly results from a preventable hazardous condition at a ski resort, contact the Draper personal injury lawyers at Handy & Handy Attorneys at Law to learn about your legal rights — call (385) 404-6398 today.
Why Choose Handy & Handy for Your Draper Ski or Snowboard Accident Case?
Handy & Handy Attorneys at Law have over 45 years of experience navigating personal injury claims in Utah, with a deep knowledge of the state’s tort law, insurance system, and civil courts. With Handy & Handy, you can expect the following:
- A free consultation and contingency-based payment, so you pay nothing upfront and only pay fees after your attorney recovers compensation for you
- The compassionate, personalized attention of a small-town law firm with the professional excellence of a large-city law office
- A renowned reputation and history of recovering multi-million dollar settlements and court awards for clients, lending a powerful voice to your claim
- A trial-ready attorney who will prepare as though for trial throughout the process, while seeking a low-conflict resolution through an ample settlement for your damages
Handy & Handy’s recent notable cases include a $500,000 result for a ski accident victim with a fractured femur.
What Types of Negligence Cause Ski and Snowboard Injuries?
Even the most experienced skier or snowboarder can suffer a serious injury when resort owners cut corners, postpone repairs, or neglect critical slope or lift maintenance. The most common causes of negligence-related accidents in Utah ski resorts include the following:
- Negligent inspections, or resort managers who fail to identify and address a hazardous condition
- Poor slope maintenance or grooming failures, such as leaving holes, obstructions, large rocks, or tree stumps on open slopes
- Failing to place warning signs to alert skiers to dangerous conditions or professional-level slopes
- Failure to mark man-made hazards, such as equipment or exposed cords, ropes, and machinery
- Improper ski lift maintenance
- Faulty ski lift repairs
- Improper lift loading procedures
- Employee negligence
- Inadequate crowd control
- Defective or improperly maintained rental gear
- Improperly allowing resort vehicles to operate on slopes open to skiers
In some cases, parties other than the resort owners are at fault for Utah ski accidents, such as the manufacturer of defective ski equipment or ski lift components.
Common Serious Injuries In Skiing and Snowboarding Accidents In Draper
Skiers and snowboarders commonly reach speeds of 40 to 50 miles per hour on downhill slopes. Professional skiers may reach speeds of 100 miles per hour or more. Unlike car passengers, a skier isn’t protected by a surrounding structure, seatbelt, or airbag, despite reaching car-like traveling speeds. Skiers face severe injuries in crashes, including the following:
- Bone fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Neck injuries, including fractures
- Back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- External head, facial, and dental injuries
- Soft-tissue injuries (sprains, strains, torn ligaments, and tendon damage) to knees, ankles, wrists, shoulders, and other parts
- Internal organ injuries
- Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
In the worst cases, a ski or snowboard accident can result in permanent catastrophic injury or death — contact a wrongful death attorney in Draper to get the justice your loved one deserves.
What If I Signed a Waiver? Can I Still Recover My Losses After a Ski Injury In Draper?
Most ski resorts require users to sign a liability waiver or include a waiver as part of the ticketing process. After an injury, some ski or snowboarding accident victims fear that this waiver prevents them from recovering their damages. Fortunately, this isn’t always the case. Waivers do not protect resort owners from liability for a property owner’s or resort manager’s gross negligence or wrongdoing, including violations of safety laws and regulations. In other cases, the wording of a liability waiver may contain flaws that allow an injury victim to recover their damages.
What To Do After a Ski or Snowboard Accident In Draper
After a severe injury, such as a head or neck injury, a skier may be unable to move safely or take any action to help themselves, instead relying on others. However, if a Utah ski slope injury victim in Draper or elsewhere can safely use their phone—or ask an uninjured companion to use one—they can take crucial steps to protect their physical and financial future by doing the following:
- First, apply any necessary basic first aid and the resort’s emergency line or 911 to request emergency services
- Then, use a cell phone camera to take photos of the accident scene, including anything relevant, such as a broken chair lift, a protruding rock, an exposed tree stump, or broken rental equipment
- Snap photos of any visible injuries
- Add the contact information of eyewitnesses to the accident
- Inform the resort manager of the accident and ask them to fill out an accident or incident report
Always go directly to the hospital after a serious injury on the slopes. Undergo a complete medical assessment and ask for a detailed medical report. Then, carefully follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations and reach out to a ski accident attorney from Handy & Handy.
What Can I Recover in a Ski or Snowboarding Accident Claim In Draper?
Depending on the severity of the injury, a ski or snowboard accident victim could suffer losses ranging from a single emergency room bill and a few days of lost pay due to a sprained ankle, to total disability from a catastrophic injury. Common damages recovered in Draper ski and snowboard accident claims include the following:
- Reimbursement for medical costs
- Future medical expenses, including rehabilitation and medication costs
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Lost wages
- Future income loss/diminished earning capacity
- Compensation for pain and suffering
- Catastrophic injury damages in cases of permanent harm, such as loss of limb, loss of hearing, vision loss, organ damage, or permanent scarring
If a ski or snowboard accident in Draper causes a fatal injury to a loved one, their family could recover wrongful death benefits by filing a claim for their damages against a negligent resort owner.
Contact the Draper Ski Accident Law Firm of Handy & Handy Attorneys at Law
A successful claim against a negligent ski resort owner can quickly become challenging, requiring substantial evidence of the property owner or manager’s knowledge of the hazard, their negligence, and your economic damages.
Instead of taking on a difficult legal endeavor alone, contact Handy & Handy to work tirelessly toward your financial recovery while you focus on your physical recovery.