Skiing Accidents

The amount of compensation you’re entitled to will depend on several different factors, including:

• The severity of your physical injuries — corroborated by an independent medical expert.
• Any psychological trauma you’ve suffered.
• Your loss of earnings through taking time off work.
• Your ongoing care and medical support requirements.
• Mobility aids and home improvements you now require as a result of your injuries.
• Other financial losses you’ve incurred in the wake of the accident, including overseas medical expenses and travel costs.
• The loss of enjoyment you’ve experienced as a result of your holiday being cut short or affected.

Our solicitors are experts in achieving maximum compensation for ski accident claims abroad, both inside and outside the EU. To find out the value of your claim, contact our team now for a free no obligation consultation.

From a legal perspective, there two types of winter sports accidents:

Fault claims

These are cases where the injured person accepts that they were responsible for the accident. Usually, these are resolved between the injured party and their travel insurance provider (although there are limited recoverable costs).

Non-fault claims:

When a third party is to blame for an injury or incident this is classed as a non-fault accident, where compensation for any personal injury and consequential losses may be claimed.

A non-fault skiing accident might be caused by:

• An instructor who hasn’t provided proper training.
• Someone operating machinery unsafely.
• A ski lift operator.
• A tour operator.
• The piste authority.
• The ski centre.
• Faulty or inappropriate equipment.

It is also possible to make a compensation claim for winter sports activities like snowboarding or less popular activities such as cross-country skiing, sledding and snowshoeing.

To ensure everyone stays safe on the slopes, winter sports resorts usually ask users to abide by a code of conduct.

In Europe, the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) sets the rules. In the US, there is a similar code of conduct that’s enshrined in law in some states. However, it is the FIS rules which usually act as the starting point when trying to establish liability if a collision occurs between two people.

If someone sustains an injury in an avalanche, the ski resort or authorities could be liable – but this would depend on the available evidence and where the accident took place.

Tour operators, ski schools and instructors who take bookings for skiing or snowboarding trips can be legally obliged to protect you from injuries and accidents.

If anyone is involved in an accident or injured while taking part, the organiser may be at fault for not protecting you sufficiently, for example by not undertaking adequate risk assessments.

In some circumstances, a claim can be made against an equipment manufacturer if it can be proven that its failure was responsible for the incident.

The amount of time you have to claim will depend on which country the ski accident took place.

If you were in the UK, you normally have three years from the date of the accident to bring a compensation claim. However, some countries have much shorter time periods, some as short as 6-12 months from the date of the accident.

We’d always recommend seeking legal advice at your earliest opportunity following a ski or winter sport accident.

Skiing injury claims can be complicated and a number of factors need to be carefully considered.

Expert advice is required to determine where you can pursue your claim and who the claim should be brought against.

At Hudgell Solicitors, we are one of the few law firms in the UK which has the experience and ability to provide specialist advice regarding skiing accident claims that occur outside the UK.

We have an extensive international network of lawyers and experts should there be a need for specialist advice from an expert in another country.

Enlist our help and we will provide expert advice and an excellent level of client care so that you can focus on your recovery.