Colorado's law is very broad, encompassing almost any possible issue that could exist when skiing in a ski area. The Colorado Ski Safety Act of 1990 provides that no skier/snowboarder can recover for injuries resulting from the inherent dangers of skiing and limits the amount of damages recoverable from a ski area operator for cases except for lift accidents.

The Colorado Supreme Court has since interpreted these amendments to allow some skiers, who are injured while skiing, to make a claim for injuries against a ski area operator if the injury results from a danger or risk which is found to be not "integral" to the sport.

Individual skiers may also be held civilly and criminally liable for their actions if they engage in reckless conduct endangering the health or safety of fellow skiers.

Types of Ski Injury Cases

• Collision cases in which skiers collide with other skiers;
• Lift cases in which a skier is injured as a result of a faulty, defective, or improperly maintained ski lift;
• Lift cases in which a skier is injured as a result of the negligence of lift operator – such as when the lift employee fails to turn off the lift during an emergency situation;
• Fall cases which involve skiers who have an accident while on the mountain and the fault of the injury lies with an improperly maintained or marked slope;
• Equipment cases in which injury is caused by a skier's equipment - generally ski binding problems.

Collision Cases
A person may sue a reckless skier/snowboarder for injuries, damages, and death caused by the skier's negligent or reckless skiing under general principles of civil liability (also called "torts"). Possible claims may include negligence and wrongful death.

The Colorado Ski Safety Act of 1990 supplements tort law by providing that skiers have certain duties toward one another, and that a breach of any such duty establishes negligence per se (without additional proof that such conduct is negligent).

Under the Act, skiers' duties include skiing within one's own ability, maintaining control of speed and course at all times, maintaining a proper lookout so as to avoid other skiers and objects, and to refrain from conduct which may cause injury to others.

Other statutory duties include not skiing in areas marked as closed, understanding and heeding all posted information and warnings, yielding to skiers already moving, not skiing while impaired by alcohol or drugs, failing to give name and current address when involved in an injury accident, and knowingly trespassing on lands adjacent to a ski area when such lands are closed and are marked accordingly.

Damages available under civil law to an injured skier include compensatory damages (economic, non-economic, and physical impairment or disfigurement) and punitive damages.

Lift Cases
Relatively few injuries are a caused by faulty or poorly maintained ski lifts. For the most part ski lifts are simple devices with established technology and a high degree of safety. However, given the large number of skiers annually using these lifts it is not surprising that design defects may catch up with the technology. Colorado law provides that ski area operators must operate their lifts with the highest degree of care to insure the safety of the passengers. The issues of liability in ski lift cases, when the injury occurs after loading and before unloading, generally concern who is responsible - the ski area operator for poor maintenance or an engineering, design or manufacturing firm for a defect.

Over 90% of all lift cases arise while the skier is either loading or unloading and are a consequence of either skier error or improper operation rather than a design defect. The liability question is generally settled after balancing the operator's duty to exercise the highest degree of care against the skier/ passenger duty to pay attention, have the requisite skills to board the lift, and to heed all posted information and instructions. Unloading accidents can be the result of an operator's negligence caused by an inadequate ramp and snow maintenance and/or the failure to stop the lift to allow known inexperienced skiers to exit safely.

Fall Cases
The Colorado Ski Safety Act of 1990 provides that no skier can recover for injuries resulting from the inherent dangers of skiing and limits the amount of damages recoverable from a ski area operator for cases except for lift accidents. The Colorado Supreme Court has since interpreted these amendments to allow some skiers, who are injured while skiing, to make a claim for injuries against a ski area operator if the injury results from a danger or risk which is found to be not "integral" to the sport.

Equipment Cases
Equipment cases generally concern the failure of bindings to release under circumstances in which the injured person would have expected them to have opened and prevented injury. Liability in these cases will hinge on whether the ski bindings were properly set and/or whether the bindings, if set correctly, were functioning properly.

Time Limits on Filing Suit
Every case has a statute of limitations that will apply. It varies by the type of case and the state where the case is filed. Don't wait until there is trouble or until the end of your case to get a lawyer. Your attorney would prefer to be involved every step of the way, to monitor your case, to guide you, to prevent trouble, and to assist you.

Irwin & Boesen, P.C. represents persons who have been injured as a result of a ski area accident. Please contact us for an honest and fair case evaluation.