“State law establishes a ‘no duty’ rule for skiing injuries, relieving ski resorts of the ‘duty to protect skiers from risks that are common, frequent and expected’ and thus inherent to the sport.”
A Pennsylvania court has dismissed a lawsuit by a skier who was seriously injured in crashed at Ski Liberty. Penn Live reports the federal appeals court uphold a decision made by U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III issued last March when he dismissed the suit by Quan Vu of Maryland.
Quan Vu claims negligence against Ski Liberty regarding his nasty crash back in January 2015 when veered off a trail into a rockpile after being rammed from behind by a snowboarder. According to the lawsuit Vu suffered extensive injuries in the crash including 21 broken ribs, a shattered hip, a fractured skull, a lacerated liver, punctures to both lungs, spinal, nerve and vision damage and a separated shoulder. Vu’s lawsuit argued the resort was legally obligated to fence off or erect some type of barrier to keep guests from flying off the trail like he did.
Judge Michael A. Chagares wrote in the opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit agreeing the sport is “inherently dangerous” and to do otherwise would be in violation of Pennsylvania’s Skier Responsibility Act:
“Other courts have recognized the more general risk of skiing off a trail as inherent to downhill skiing.” -Judge Michael A. Chagares
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