Although rare, ski lift accidents do occur and when they do, they can cause catastrophic injuries and even death. In the past, a Devil’s Head ski lift abruptly stopped, sparked, jolted, and then went into reverse at a high rate of speed. Out of fear of dying, riders, jumped from their seats, seriously injuring many of the skiers.
On December 28, 2010, while workers were trying to realign a ski lift cable at Sugarloaf Resort, the cable slipped off of its track, causing riders to be dropped 25 to 30 feet below, sustaining serious neck, back, head and bone injuries.
Many times, a ski lift operator does not stop a lift after a person falls getting off, causing the next rider to hit or strike the skier lying on the landing base. When that happens, it is the ski lift operator who was negligent and caused additional injuries to the riders.
Ski lift accidents can occur due to faulty equipment, faulty upkeep, or negligent repairs. Defective or faulty equipment can lead to the cable dislodging from its track, bull wheel failure, break failure, back up break malfunction, anti-rollback device failure, and gearbox failure that cause skiers to become ejected from the lift and fall to the ground. Faulty and defective equipment can also be caused by improper maintenance or installation.
Ski lift accidents can lead to head injuries or traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken backs, paraplegia, quadriplegia, skull fractures, punctured or collapsed lungs, multiple bone fractures, lacerations and other catastrophic injuries, including death.
Since 1958, the experienced Philadelphia premise liability, wrongful death, and negligence team at The Beasley Law Firm has aggressively represented skiers and their families who have been injured by a faulty ski lift or negligent ski lift operator. To date, the nationally known Beasley Law Firm has been awarded over $2 billion dollars on behalf of their injured clients and have hundreds of millions and multi-million dollar verdicts, settlements, and awards to their credit.
If you or a loved one has been injured while skiing or on a ski lift, please feel free to contact one of our experienced lawyers, doctors or nurses for a strictly confidential and free consultation.
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