Types of Ski and Snowboard Injuries & Accidents

It is not uncommon for action sports like skiing or snowboarding to cause injuries. However, when a ski trip injury occurs due to the negligence of another person, it is no longer just a common accident and you should consider filing a claim against the party(s) who caused it.

Learn more about the types of ski and snowboard accidents and who might be liable for them here.

Types of Ski Trip Injuries

Even skiers who take steps toward ski accident prevention can find themselves involved ski trip injury if another party is careless. The following are some common ski accident injuries that can lead to accident claims:

Ski Accident Knee Injury

Your knees do much of the work when skiing or snowboarding. During a fall or turn, the knee ligaments (both the medial collateral ligament, or MCL, and the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL) can stretch or tear.

A ski accident knee injury can require months of rehabilitation and painful surgeries to repair. Even after treatment, some skiers cannot return to the slopes due to permanent damage.

These injuries might be preventable with the right binding maintenance and ski settings. Ski Rental companies can also cause these accidents if they neglect to maintain their equipment.

Skier’s Thumb

Skier’s thumb occurs when the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) stretches to the extreme, resulting in a partial or full tear of the ligament. This injury usually occurs when the skier falls and does not release her grip on the ski pole.

If another skier or snowboarder caused your fall, you might be able to hold him/her liable for your skier’s thumb injury.

Ski Accident Brain Injury

Brain injury is one of the leading causes of ski accident death and serious injury, according to Jasper Shealy, a professor who has studied ski and snowboard accidents for over 30 years. This injury can cause permanent disability, cognitive impairment, and a lower quality of life following an accident.

While many brain injuries stem from a lack of helmet use, defective or poorly maintained helmets can also lead to a brain injury in a ski accident.

Spinal Injury

Skier collisions on the mountain can cause serious injury to your neck, back, and spinal cord. The location and severity of your spine injury will determine how it will affect you in the future.

Skiers can become paralyzed from the point of injury down, or lose sensation or movement in limbs due to spinal cord damage.

Cracked vertebra or herniated discs can cause chronic back pain after a ski trip accident.

Depending on how the injury occurred, you might be able to hold another skier or the ski resort liable.

Ski Accident Death

Brain injuries are a common cause of ski accident death. However, other factors such as systemic shock, neck injuries, or blunt force, internal trauma can contribute to a skier’s death.

The prognosis of an injured skier relies not on just the severity of the injury, but also to the speed of emergency responders and the skill of the nearest medical facility.

Family members of the victim may be able to hold any party who contributed to the accident liable.

Ski Lift Accidents

An improperly maintained or operated ski lift can cause accidents and injury. Chair lifts that employees do not operate properly can cause skiers to land on unstable ground, leading to substantial injuries.

In the rare event that a ski lift car detaches, the occupants can suffer any number of traumatic injuries, such as a spinal cord injury. If a ski lift gets stuck for a prolonged period, skiers can develop hypothermia in the frigid winds. In Colorado, the Passenger Tramway Safety Act, C.R.S. 25-5-701, applies to ski lifts, not the ski resort friendly Ski Safety Act, C.R.S. 33-44-101.

Let a Colorado Ski Accident Attorney Determine Liability for Your Accident

No one wants to have to deal with paperwork and investigations when they have just suffered a serious ski accident injury. Even skiers that practice good ski accident prevention can find themselves in the hospital if someone else was negligent.

Proving negligence takes more than just a suspicion that someone caused your injury; you need hard evidence to prove someone else is liable for your damages. That is why many injured skiers and snowboarders have trusted their ski accident claims to a Colorado ski accident lawyer from Sears & Associates, P.C.

After a skier collision occurs, a full accident site investigation is imperative. Therefore, the sooner the injured party calls a knowledgeable lawyer, the better.

Our team supports Colorado skiers and snowboarders with legal services to help get them back on their feet and hopefully back on the slopes. Call our law firm to set up a free consultation. During this consultation, our lawyers can explain how we help skiers recover compensation for their injuries. Our goal is to make your recovery less stressful with the knowledge that our team is working with your best interests in mind.

We have two Colorado offices located in Vail and Colorado Springs. Call us today: 719-471-1984.