Ski Area Negligence Cases
General Claims for Ski Area Negligence
Most states have laws which protect ski areas against claims arising from the inherent dangers of downhill skiing and snowboarding. However, these states allow claims against ski area operators for injuries caused by those hazards which are not “inherent dangers.” These would include open excavations, parked heavy machinery around a blind corner, collisions with moving equipment which is the fault of the operator’s employee. And most states require minimal safety standards for the operation of the ski areas, which if specifically violated, provide the basis of a claim against a ski area operator for a downhill skiing/snowboarding accident.
Since 1978, all but three states with any significant ski industry have adopted a form of ski safety legislation that in some way limits the liability of ski area operators in ski cases. The statutes, often called “ski safety” legislation, are in truth, non-duty provisions, solely benefiting special-interest political constituents.
Click here to see a state listing of applicable ski law.
Colorado Ski Area Negligence
In Colorado, the applicable law is the Colorado Ski Safety Act. To read the current statute, click here.
Prior to July 1, 1990, Colorado ski area operators were obliged not only to operate their ski areas in compliance with the specific requirements of the Ski Safety Statute (regarding the marking of slopes, the padding and marking of man made objects, and posting of specific warnings) but also to exercise a reasonable duty of care in the design, maintenance and operation of their slopes.
The 1989-90 General Assembly passed amendments to the Ski Safety Act which provided that no skier could recover for injuries resulting from the inherent dangers of skiing; and, limiting damages recoverable from a ski area operator for cases except for lift accidents. In 1995, the Colorado Supreme Court interpreted these amendments in Graven v. Vail Associates, Inc. 909 P. 2d 514 (Colo. 1995) the Colorado Supreme Court adopted a narrow construction of the inherent danger provisions of the Colorado Ski Act. C.R.S. §33-44-101 et sq.
This precedent will allow some skiers, who are injured while skiing, to advance a claim for injuries against a ski area operator if the injury results not from a ski area operator's breach of a specific duty set out in the Ski Act, but, rather from a danger or risk which is found to be not "integral" to the sport.
Case reports for recent ski area negligence cases.
