If you’re going to be spending time on the ski slopes over the holidays, you hope that you and your family will return home without any broken bones or more severe injuries. What if you don’t? Are you responsible for your injuries or are there cases in which you can hold a ski resort or other property liable? The short answer is, “It depends.”
Ski resorts have a responsibility to keep their property as safe and hazard-free as reasonably possible. That includes keeping the ski lifts functioning properly. Many ski resort injuries occur before people even make it onto the slopes. A fall from a ski lift making its way up or down a mountain can be serious and even fatal. If someone suffers an injury because the resort failed to keep a lift properly maintained or to repair a malfunction, it could potentially be held liable.
Once you’re on the slopes, it may be difficult to hold the resort liable for an injury. However, the resort is responsible for maintaining safe skiing conditions and having personnel on the slopes to help ensure the safety of skiers.
If you or a loved one suffers an injury, whether at one of Colorado’s many ski resorts or elsewhere, and you believe the resort could and should have prevented it, it’s wise to seek the guidance of an experienced Colorado personal injury attorney.