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34 • Touchline • Issue 16
he decision of the New South Wales Supreme
Court in Nair-Smith v Perisher Blue Pty Ltd [2013]
NSWSC 727 provides an important discussion in
relation to the negligence of recreational activity
providers, sufficiency of warnings and breaches of implied
terms.
Dr Ghita Nair-Smith (the Plaintiff), an experienced skier, was
skiing at the Defendant’s ski fields with her family and friends.
On 18 July 2003, the plaintiff attempted to board a triple chair
ski lift with two friends. They noticed that the safety bar on the
approaching chair was down and alerted the ski lift operator.
The lift operator was able to raise the safety bar shortly before
the chair reached the loading point. Despite this, the plaintiff
was misaligned with the chair and struck by the right hand rail
in the groin area from behind. The plaintiff remained straddled
on the armrest but was eventually pulled into her seat by one
of her friends on the chairlift. As a consequence of the incident,
the plaintiff suffered damage to her pelvis and on-going pain
and allegedly developed a psychiatric condition as a result of
the incident.
The plaintiff sued the ski resort for damages claiming that
the lift operator’s actions caused the chair to move out of its
alignment and strike her.
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