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Businessman left in wheelchair by skiing
accident sues tour operators
Anderson, whose skiing experience was
limited to a few weeks, with a skier of 13
years’ experience.
“The location of the accident was on
a slope with a gradient which was
manifestly too steep for a skiier of his
experience and lack of ability”, he told Mr
Justice Foskett.
The Lyotiers deny any liability, saying
Mr Anderson was himself careless in
attempting a slope he should have known
he was not capable of tackling safely,
and have sought a contribution to the
damages and costs from Mr Portejoie.
Mr Portejoie’s French insurers have agreed
to make a 100 per cent contribution
to any damages awarded against the
Lyotiers, but his barrister, Richard Davies
QC, argued that there was “slender
support” for Mr Anderson’s accusation of
negligence.
Mr Wilson-Smith insisted that Mr
Anderson, who runs printing business
BGP in Plymouth and attended court in a
wheelchair, could be awarded “potentially
millions” in damages and costs, given his
current and future care needs.
Mr Justice Foskett said that he had no
experience of skiing whatsoever and that
presiding over the case would be “a bit
like skiing off-piste”.
Source: Daily Telegraph - UK
Father-of-two Graham Anderson was
staying in the exclusive resort of Puy St
Vincent in the French Alps in February
2004 when the accident happened.
On the final day of his holiday, he was
taken off piste by instructor Jerome
Portejoie with the adult ski school he was
enrolled in, despite the fact that during
a previous trip he had “frequently fallen”,
Mr Anderson’s lawyer said.
As he went down a steep, narrow slope,
he lost control and sped into a tree at the
bottom, losing consciousness on impact.
When he came round, he realised he
could not feel his legs.
Now a tetraplegic, Mr Anderson, 46,
of Crapston, Devon, is suing Michel
and Wendy Lyotier, who run the
Cambridgeshire-based tour operator
Snowbizz, for breaching the terms of the
holiday contract that services would be
provided with reasonable care and skill.
Christopher Wilson-Smith QC, for Mr
Anderson, told the High Court: “Mr
Anderson accepts that skiing is a sport
which involves a degree of risk.
“He further accepts that, in choosing to
go on a skiing holiday, he was exposing
himself to the possibility of injury.”
But he said that way the group was
selected was “negligent”, pairing Mr
A British businessman left in a wheelchair after he collided with a tree
during a skiing holiday is suing his tour operators for millions of pounds.
Serious Head Injuries for Snowboarders
and Skiers
on the Rise
ScienceDaily
reports that serious injuries
among alpine skiers and snowboarders
have increased over the past 15 years
due to faster speeds and the inclusion of
more jumping and acrobatics as the norm
in these sports.
The findings are based on a comprehensive
international review of published research
on injuries sustained by mountain skiers
and snowboarders between 1990 and the
end of 2004.
The study looked specifically at serious
brain and spinal cord injuries which
make up a relatively small proportion of
the injuries sustained while skiing and
snowboarding, but are the leading cause
of death.
The research suggests that the rate of
this type of serious injury is steadily rising
in all of the countries that have reported
data. The percentage of head injuries
among skiers has increased from 12 per
cent in 1993 to 15 per cent in 1997, while
the number among snowboarders has
quintupled over the same time.
Furthermore, the research suggest that
skiers and snowboarders under the
age of 35 are more than three times as
likely to have a brain injury as younger
participants. Male sporting enthusiasts
are significantly more likely to be seriously
injured than their female peers.
The research also shows that the wearing
of helmets can cut the risk of serious brain
injuries by between 22% and 60%.
More needs to be done to promote the
wearing of helmets and the enforcement
of design standards for them.