Ski and Snowboard Accident Attorney Serving Boise & Meridian, Idaho

If you are a skier or snowboarder, you understand the remarkable feeling of coming down the side of a mountain. While these activities are designed for fun and sport, they are not without danger. The nature of skiing and snowboarding can leave you vulnerable to injury and even death. For thousands of people every year in Idaho, this vulnerability is a risk worth taking. 

Part of the reason these activities are worth the risk is because you trust other skiers and snowboarders to be careful, not reckless. You trust your skis, boards, poles, and other products to be safe for their intended use.  

But what happens if your trust is misplaced by the actions or inaction of someone else? Well, you may end up seriously injured. A loved one could even be killed.  

At Shep Law Office, we help clients and their families injured or killed in ski or snowboard accidents in and around Boise, Meridian, Ada County, Canyon County, and throughout the State of Idaho. No one should have to pay for enjoyment on the slopes with their livelihood or their lives. If someone else’s negligence caused an accident, our ski/snowboard accident attorneys will help you hold them accountable.  

Common Causes of Ski/Snowboard Accidents

Collisions with other skiers, snowboarders, and fixed objects, defective equipment, and unsafe premises are three broad causes of ski/snowboard accidents.  

Skiers and snowboarders who lose control are often unable to stop before hitting someone else on the hill or a fixed object, with often catastrophic results. Once a collision occurs, the people involved can get their gear tangled up. They may be unable to stop before hitting something or someone else. A loss of control can be caused by reckless behavior or icy conditions and other weather conditions that reduce visibility.  

A defective product, such as a ski or snowboard, bindings, boots, and poles may also cause someone to fall or be unable to stop while descending the slope.  

An unsafe lift, unmarked trails and hazards, and equipment used on the slope without proper warning or lights can produce unsafe premises.  

Who Can Be Liable for a Ski/Snowboard Accident?

Skiers and snowboarders owe everyone else on the slopes a reasonable duty of care. They cannot ski on a slope with a degree of difficulty that exceeds their ability. They must slow down when conditions are icy, when visibility is reduced, and when the slope is crowded. If someone breaches their duty of care and causes an accident that injures or kills someone else, they can be held financially responsible for those losses.  

Recklessness, on the other hand, involves a disregard for danger and the safety of others. A reckless skier or snowboarder may choose to come down the mountain as fast as they can, weaving in and out of others on the slope. In events where reckless skiing and snowboarding result in injuring others, those individuals can and should be held liable.  

If a product failure causes an accident, the manufacturer or vendor who rented the equipment may be liable. Those who rent ski and snowboard equipment have a duty to inspect and maintain them properly. If their failure to do so, which is negligence, causes harm, they can be held responsible.  

Those who manufacture products with design or production defects do not have to be proven negligent to pursue a claim for personal injury or wrongful death in a ski/snowboard accident. Idaho observes the theory of strict liability for defective products, so negligence is not an issue.  

What Is an Assumption of Risk? 

Because skiing and snowboarding can be dangerous activities, those who participate assume a certain amount of risk. For example, you can’t hold the ski resort liable if you fall and break a leg, unless the owners and operators created an unsafe condition or failed to warn you about one.  

The fact is that Idaho law protects ski facility owners and operators. The bar is high for proving their negligence injured you, and not the risk you assumed when you decided to enjoy the mountain.  

How Do I File a Claim for a Ski/Snowboard Accident?

Ski/snowboard accident claims can be extremely challenging. If you don’t have witnesses to injuries caused by a reckless or negligent skier, it is your word against theirs. Moreover, defective product claims are notoriously difficult.  

If you want to file a wrongful death or personal injury claim for a ski/snowboard accident, start with a personal injury or wrongful death attorney who has a successful record of garnering settlements for clients. Your attorney will explore who can be held liable for a ski/snowboard accident and help you hold them accountable.  

If you have been injured, you can file a personal injury claim. If someone you love was incapacitated by their ski/snowboard accident injuries, you can ask the court to appoint a guardian to pursue a claim on their behalf. If your loved one died from their injuries, the surviving spouse, heirs, or personal representative of the decedent’s estate may file a wrongful death claim.  

In any case, you have only two years from the date of injury or date of death to settle your claim with the insurance company or file a lawsuit against the negligent parties.