A woman who was involved in a skier on skier collision at Vail has been awarded $750,000.

In December 2017 Pauline Labra was skiing a narrow section of Lower Lion’s Way with her husband when Craig Michel smashed into her from behind at ‘a high rate of speed’. Labra suffered serious injuries, including a shattered left humerus in the crash.

Sadly, Labra required surgery to place hardware throughout her shoulder and she has had nearly two years of medical treatment and rehabilitation following the accident.
“We were clearly able to prove that Mr. Michel was 100% at fault for the ski collision,” said Labra’s attorney.
“As a result, Mr. Michel’s insurance company offered a substantial amount to settle the case to avoid going to trial.”
A six-day jury trial was scheduled for January 7th- 14th 2020.
The Eagle County Sheriff’s Department investigated the collision, but no charges were filed despite Michel being in clear violation of the Colorado Skier Safety Act.

 

We have reported on it in the past on PlanetSKI:

In North America the authorities appear to take tougher action than their European counterparts.

Vail Resorts itself has marshalls on the slopes at some intersections at busy times of the day:

Authority on the slopes, Vail ResortsAuthority on the slopes, Vail Resorts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE:

There has been some reaction to the article and the iissues raised over on Facebook:

Facebook reaction

Tim Konrad is the founder of Unofficial Networks and a passionate skier with over two decades of experience in the ski industry. In 2006, he launched the blog from Lake Tahoe with his brother John, evolving...