Terry Sanderson, the person accusing Gwyneth Paltrow of crashing into him whereas snowboarding greater than seven years in the past and leaving him severely injured, took to the stand Monday to testify within the civil trial over the 2016 accident.
This is the primary time Sanderson, a retired optometrist, has testified within the trial. He first filed a criticism in opposition to Paltrow in January 2019, submitting an up to date criticism a month later.
Sanderson started by addressing his absence from the courtroom for many of final week, saying he did not need to be current whereas his daughters testified, saying he wished them to have the ability to “speak totally freely.”
MORE: Gwyneth Paltrow testifies in ski crash trial
He then recounted his recollection of the incident, which allegedly came about Feb. 26, 2016, insisting on the stand that he was downhill whereas Paltrow was uphill, saying, “There was nothing in front of me.”
Sanderson stated he recalled listening to a “blood-curdling scream” earlier than he stated he “got hit in my back so hard.” The subsequent factor he remembered, he stated, was that “everything is black.”
“I tried to move, and I could not move a limb. I couldn’t move my head. I couldn’t move my body,” he stated. “Nothing was responding.”
Sanderson stated he does personal a GoPro digicam however that he did not have it the day of the accident.
Addressing the e-mail to his daughters during which he wrote “I’m famous” after the ski crash, he stated, “I really was trying to add a little levity to a serious situation, and it backfired.”
Sanderson additionally spoke of his strained relationship along with his daughter Jenny, the one daughter to not testify in courtroom, saying they “don’t communicate as well” as he does along with his different two daughters.
He stated he now speaks “upside-down and backward” on account of the accident.
Sanderson stated he does not really feel “as engaged” in actions and that he does not “have that same spark” as he did previous to the accident, calling himself a “self-imposed recluse.”
Cross-examination of Sanderson started Monday and can proceed “at a different time,” Paltrow’s legal professional stated.
Deer Valley workers Eric Christiansen and Whitney Smith additionally testified on Monday, in addition to Deer Valley Director of Operations Steve Graff.
What has occurred within the civil trial to date
So far within the civil trial, the jury has heard opening remarks from each Paltrow’s and Sanderson’s attorneys in addition to testimony from a slew of medical doctors — together with Dr. Wendell Gibby, Dr. Sam Goldstein, Dr. Alina Fong and Dr. Richard Boehme — in addition to a witness Sanderson’s protection claims is the only real witness of the crash.
Sanderson’s ex-girlfriend and two of his daughters have additionally taken to the stand, as did the brother of Sanderson’s son-in-law.
On Friday, Paltrow took to the stand for the primary time and recounted her reminiscence of the accident, saying she was snowboarding along with her two youngsters and her husband Brad Falchuk, her then-boyfriend, when “Mr. Sanderson skied directly into my back.”
Paltrow, who filed a counterclaim in opposition to Sanderson in February 2019, stated she was “extremely upset” within the aftermath of the crash.
When requested by Sanderson’s legal professional if Paltrow feels “some sympathy for Mr. Sanderson’s declining brain,” she stated, “I really do. I feel very sorry for him. It seems like he’s had a very difficult life.”
“But I did not cause the accident,” she stated. “So I cannot be at fault for anything that subsequently happened to him.”
Paltrow’s legal professional, Stephen Owens, has stated that Falchuk, as properly Paltrow’s two youngsters, daughter Apple and son Moses, will take the stand within the civil trial.
Sanderson’s allegations
Sanderson’s unique criticism filed in opposition to Paltrow claims that Paltrow allegedly “skied out of control and hit the back of Terry Sanderson, another skier, who was downhill, knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries.”
The unique criticism additionally named a Deer Valley ski teacher, the Deer Valley Resort Company LLC, and a pair of different unnamed workers of the resort, listed as Jane and John Doe.
The criticism acknowledged that “Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.” According to the criticism, the Deer Valley Resort ski teacher who was coaching Paltrow allegedly “saw the injured Sanderson and skied off, falsely accusing Sanderson of having caused the crash.”
“He also failed to send help, as he was obligated to do, and later filed a false report to protect his client, Ms. Paltrow,” the criticism acknowledged.
Sanderson additionally alleged within the unique criticism that “neither Ms. Paltrow nor Deer Valley lodge personnel notified emergency responders” about his accidents and “left him at the scene with serious brain injuries.” The criticism claimed that at the least two Deer Valley-employed instructors who have been with the actress didn’t telephone ski patrol for assist for him.
The criticism alleged that the ski teacher later “filled out and signed an incident report falsely stating that Gwyneth Paltrow did not cause the crash” although the ski teacher allegedly “did not see the crash” occur.
In an amended criticism filed in February 2019, Sanderson modified the worth of damages he’s looking for within the lawsuit from $3.1 million to $300,000.
The different events listed in his complaints, together with a Deer Valley ski teacher, the Deer Valley Resort Company LLC, and a pair of different unnamed workers of the resort, have been dismissed from Sanderson’s swimsuit in January 2023. The resort was dismissed from the swimsuit after its lawyer argued it’s shielded from legal responsibility for snowboarding accidents given the inherent dangers to the game.
Paltrow’s countersuit
A month after Sanderson filed his unique lawsuit, Paltrow filed a countersuit in opposition to him.
In it, she denied inflicting the collision and claimed that Sanderson was the one who “plowed into her back.”
“Ms. Paltrow remembers what happened very clearly,” the swimsuit claimed. “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 swimsuit continued. “Plaintiff apologized. She was shaken and upset, and quit skiing for the day even though it was still morning.”
In Paltrow’s counterclaim, she claimed {that a} Deer Valley worker was current on the scene of the accident. Her counterclaim states that the employee requested Sanderson if he was OK to which he allegedly stated he was. Her counterclaim states that the worker created a report saying Sanderson was the uphill skier who was answerable for their collision and that he had “taken [Paltrow] out from behind.”
The Goop CEO and award-winning actress referred to as the lawsuit in opposition to her an “attempt to exploit her celebrity and wealth,” in accordance with her countersuit.
The counterclaim acknowledged that Paltrow stated her accidents have been “relatively minor” and that she is just looking for “symbolic damages” of $1 “plus her costs and attorneys’ fees” for defending herself in opposition to “this meritless claim.”
