OAN Brooke Mallory
UPDATED 6:00 PM – Thursday, March 30, 2023
A jury sided in favor of actress Gwyneth Paltrow on Thursday, ruling that she was not to blame for a 2016 skiing accident involving a retired Utah ophthalmologist who suffered broken ribs and a concussion as a result of the fall.
Terry Sanderson sued Gwyneth Paltrow for $300,000, claiming that on February 26, 2016, at Utah’s Deer Valley Resort, Paltrow crashed into him from behind due to her careless skiing.
Sanderson claimed that the crash left him with four fractured ribs, a concussion, and permanent brain impairment that has an impact on his current day-to-day activities and interpersonal connections.
According to the jury, Sanderson was found to be at blame, not Paltrow. This conclusion was made after deliberations earlier in the afternoon.
Paltrow claimed that she did not come into contact with Sanderson, and as a result, she filed a countersuit for $1, on top of her legal fees.
“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity… I am pleased with the outcome, and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case,” Paltrow said in a statement.
Sanderson was the one at blame for the collision, according to Paltrow, who testified in court. She explained that when a man approached her from behind, placed his skis in between hers, and loudly groaned, she at first thought she was being attacked by a crazed fan.
“Mr. Sanderson categorically hit me on the ski slope, and that is the truth,” Paltrow said in her testimony.
Additionally, she refuted the testimony of Sanderson’s witness Craig Ramon, who was a member of the meetup group Sanderson had arranged for that day’s skiing. Ramon, who claimed to have been around 35 feet behind Paltrow and Sanderson at the time of the accident, was the only witness to the incident.
Ramon testified in court that after hearing a scream, he then saw Paltrow ram Sanderson from behind. He claimed Sanderson was laying with his face down in the snow and then briefly passed out. He continued on, claiming that Paltrow left after four minutes or so without providing her name or checking on Sanderson’s wellbeing.
Paltrow refuted Ramon’s claims and questioned his credibility.
“He said he was 40 feet away and colorblind… I don’t know how he can be positive about what he saw, especially with how much he changed his story,” Paltrow maintained.
Paltrow further denied leaving the scene of the collision before Sanderson told the group he was okay, and claimed the instructor handled everything on her behalf. She said that after filing a report, the instructor gave her more information.
According to the official instructor’s report from that day, Paltrow was hit by a male skier.
After the collision, Paltrow enjoyed lunch with her two kids and her fiancé (now husband) and she withdrew from the remaining ski runs due to a sore knee.
Apple and Moses Martin, her children, testified that their mother had been alarmed and told them Sanderson had bumped into her.
Her daughter stated in court that even though she was not present for the accident, she remembered her mother being in a “state of shock” afterwards.
Sanderson, 76, said the incident caused him to have a traumatic brain injury that has significantly impacted his current day-to-day activities and interpersonal interactions.
Sanderson’s mental decline was attributed by Paltrow’s attorneys to aging and pre-existing medical issues, and they supported their claims by having medical professionals testify in the trial.
In an effort to refute the notion that Sanderson’s stressful personal life is solely the result of his brain damage, Paltrow’s attorneys also cited past failed relationships and a deposition from one of his kids, who appears to be estranged from her father. Sanderson’s daughter claimed that his mental issues were occurring well before the incident with Paltrow.
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