The trial involving a 2016 skiing accident in Utah began on Tuesday with actress Gwyneth Paltrow making an appearance in a Park City courtroom.
Paltrow is accused of colliding with Terry Sanderson seven years ago as they were both skiing on a novice route at Deer Valley Resort, leaving him with multiple serious injuries, and then fleeing the scene.
Three years after the crash on the mountaintop, Sanderson, a retired ophthalmologist, filed the case. He has since claimed that the incident caused him to have a brain injury, four fractured ribs, and mental harm.
Paltrow allegedly departed the scene without providing Sanderson with her name, a way to reach her, or a phone number to call for assistance.
In his opening statement, Sanderson's lawyer Lawrence Buhler said, "Crash-causing skiers are distracted. Defendant Gwyneth Paltrow was aware that it was hazardous to stare up the mountain and to the side while skiing down it."
According to Paltrow's lawyer Stephen Owens, Sanderson's accusations that the actress fled the mountain after striking him were completely false.
We think it's just BS, Owens said. However, he informed the jury that Sanderson's defence team had the burden of proof in the case, not the actress.
"While you will be sad for [Sanderson], it is not the reason you are in this place. You're here to determine if someone carelessly collided with someone or whether nobody did "Noted he.
Just a month later Sanderson in 2019, the Oscar-winning actress and businesswoman launched her own countersuit.