Californians who want a White Christmas need to head up a mountain to get it. While up there, it is quite common to hit up the ski slopes for a holiday getaway that is both thrilling and relaxing. With recent years bringing in warm winters across California, more people than ever before are going to be skiing and snowboarding to get away from the heat. The increase in skiers also means a direct increase in the likelihood of getting into a holiday skiing accident as the slopes get crowded.
In case you or a loved one are hurt in a skiing accident over the holiday season, do you know what to do to seek compensation? Reducing your liability and maximizing the damages you recover might depend on what you can prove.
Important factors that can help you prove liability in your holiday skiing accident:
- Known experience: A major contributor to holiday skiing accidents is the liable party’s skiing experience. Were they a rookie who had never seen snow before? It might have been their inability to control their skis or predict your path that cause your collision or fall. Listen carefully when speaking to anyone else involved in your skiing accident and take note of anything that indicates a lack of experience.
- Location: A well-managed ski resort will clearly label different slopes throughout the region based on their difficulty. Where were you when you had your skiing accident? Your location could prove useful if you were on a dangerous yet mislabeled or unlabeled slope. Your liability could also decrease if you were struck by another skier who should have reasonably known they were not skilled enough for that slope difficulty rating.
- Maintenance records: The ski resort has a responsibility to protect its visitors from danger caused by a lack of maintenance. Lifts, slopes, and rented equipment all need to be routinely maintained to eliminate dangers and defects. The maintenance records of the resort should prove useful when pinpointing liability. If no such records itself, your case will be improved all the more.
- Emergency response time: After your holiday skiing accident, how long did you have to wait until ski patrol came to help you? The reasonable wait time for rescue skiers to assist you will depend on where you were on the slopes, the business of the area, and weather conditions. Waiting an unusually long amount of time for assistance could take liability for your injuries off your shoulders, even if you caused your own ski accident. Talk to an attorney to see if this could be viable factor in your case’s liability.
If you or a loved one get hurt in a holiday skiing accident in California this holiday season, then you can come to Habbas & Associates for all the legal guidance and representation you need. We have more than 200 years of total legal experience with an intentional focus on personal injury claims, marking us as one of the most experienced injury law firms in the Bay Area, if not the entirety of the state. Contact us today to get more information about filing a claim after a holiday skiing accident.
