After crash on slope, skiers now vie in court

[Pat Donnelly]

Career derailed, model alleges

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | June 29, 2005

It was so cold that Monday morning in January that Sarah Walker, a 23-year-old ski instructor and aspiring model, had an expert slope to herself as she skied down Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., practicing her jumps.

But as Walker came over a crest on the Board Park trail, she said, a 14-year-old girl was skiing across her path, leaving her with no chance to avoid a violent collision that she said has changed her life.

''All I saw was somebody darting in front of me," said Walker, who couldn't remember the collision on Jan. 27, 2003, but recalled fumbling in the snow for her front teeth, which had penetrated her lip and been knocked out in the fall. Her knee cap was also fractured.

While skiing accidents rarely end up in court, Walker filed a negligence suit against the girl, Megan Lowry of Boxford, and her parents, Daniel and Nancy Lowry, that is being tried this week before a jury in US District Court in Boston. The Lowrys counter that Walker is to blame for the accident because she was skiing too fast and went airborne before the collision.

Walker alleges that Lowry, who had been skiing on another trail, is at fault because she should have seen Walker coming down the trail and yielded. She is seeking damages for her injuries, as well as for lost income for her failed modeling career.

The accident, according to Walker, has ruined her chances of modeling by leaving her with a scar on her lip, a limp, and low self-esteem.

After Walker's lawyers finished presenting their case yesterday, US District Magistrate Judge Robert Collings dismissed Walker's claim that Lowry's parents were negligent, noting that they were on the slope supervising their children at the time. Jurors are set to hear final arguments in the case today, and then begin deliberating over whether Megan Lowry was negligent.

Taking the stand yesterday, Lowry, a slender, soft-spoken teenager, now 16, said she was knocked unconscious for several minutes by the collision with Walker and told jurors that she couldn't remember what happened. But, she said, she was an advanced skier, who always looked uphill before crossing a trail.

Her brother, Christopher, now 14, who was snowboarding behind her, pointed the blame for the accident at Walker. He testified that as he was about to follow his sister across the trail, he looked up and saw Walker come over the crest with her skis about 5 inches off the ground.

''She was going really fast," said Christopher Lowry, adding that Walker was airborne and ''then she landed and she crashed into my sister."

The boy's testimony contradicted that of Thomas Sutton Jr., a skiing expert from Lincoln, N.H., who was hired by the plaintiff. He testified that based on incident reports, he believed that Megan Lowry caused the accident and that Walker's skis didn't leave the ground before the two collided.

Walker, who is in her second semester at Cleveland State University, studying business marketing, testified that she had completed two jumps on the slope but that she was not in the air when she collided with Lowry.

Boston lawyer Evan Slavitt, who represents Walker, told jurors during opening statements, ''The responsiblity was on Megan to avoid the collision."

But the Lowrys' lawyer, Lawrence J. Kenney Jr. of Boston, told jurors, ''The first rule for skiers is to maintain control. Sarah Walker . . . chose to go airborne and lost control."

Walker testified that she had signed a one-year contract with the Dynasty Modeling Agency in Boston three months before the accident, but is no longer able to get a job because of the scar on her face and her inability to stand for long periods or wear high heels.

''I just don't look the same," said Walker, who broke into tears. However, Walker acknowledged during cross-examination that during the three months that she was under contract with Dynasty before her accident, she had not been offered any modeling jobs.

Joseph Freeman, the owner and director of Dynasty Modeling agency, agreed that although he believed that Walker was ''a good, solid model" who once had the potential to earn $10,000 to $20,000, he no longer believed she could make it in the business.

[SWriverstone]

I generally despise litigation of every kind and believe that when people go to court, nobody wins. On the other hand, I genuinely believe that---at some resorts at least---people are just out of control.

Though I can't believe I'm saying it, the threat of more slope-accident-related lawsuits might actually prompt resorts to police the slopes a bit more---and maybe the straightliners would be kept off the slopes!

Scott

[Holly]

It seems to me that both skiers choices/observations played a part in this accident. How many times have we all read the right of way rules . The skier/boarder below has the right of way. Then there is also the rule about looking up the hill before merging from another trail or crossing a trail.

We all assume a responsibility to ski/snowboard safely and to not put other skiers/boarders at risk. It is everyone's responsibility to exercise due diligence. So long as we're able to show/explain what we did to avoid a collision, blame/liability should not be levied on us.

Yes... out of control skiers/boarders who ignore the right of way rules should be held liable for putting other people at risk.

For some reason this got me thinkin' about my parents. They used to throw parties at our house and serve alcholic beverages from time to time. When folks started suing party throwers for liability when one of the intoxicated party goers was involved in an accident, my folks stopped hosting parties (afraid that they could loose it all in a court battle).

Could the risk of liability with regard to downhilll winter recreation pursuits, cause me to reconsider my participation? Possibly.

Holly

[tex1230]

Take Responsibility for your own actions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sounds like both were at fault...but the "Skier's responsibility Code" covers both of these skiers...1)stay in control at all times

2)when merging with another trail, the uphill skier has the right of way

sorry the model's career was ruined, but what a crock of sh!t.

if she went into the trees and scratched her face, would she sue the landscapers/trail cutters?

if she lost it on a jump and got ice burn on her face would she sue the ski area? or the local water district?

if you choose to participate in sports you assume the risk of injury! all of us should carry insurance, follow the rules, and use common sense.

[ncermak]

Yesterday's Boston Globe reported that Walker was found by the jury to be skiing recklessly that day, and was 95% responsible for the accident. She was not awarded any money. I wonder if a jury comprised of skiers and riders would have come to the same conclusion. I also wonder if the parents will now countersue to recover costs for injuries to the little girls.

Its a mad mad world. Ride smart. ride responsible...

-Noah

[lonerider]

Originally posted by ncermak

Yesterday's Boston Globe reported that Walker was found by the jury to be skiing recklessly that day, and was 95% responsible for the accident. She was not awarded any money. I wonder if a jury comprised of skiers and riders would have come to the same conclusion. I also wonder if the parents will now countersue to recover costs for injuries to the little girls.

Its a mad mad world. Ride smart. ride responsible...

-Noah

I would have to agree. I rode at Loon for years and it simply isn't that steep a mountain... in order for you to be going that fast (and it sounds like she was screaming done the hill) you have to basically tuck from the top of the hill to the bottom to keep your speed up. To do it on a freezing cold day when the snow must be super fast... is just stupidity because you will easily overshoot the landings on all the jumps... except for maybe the 65 footer that they used to have at the end of the run.

I'm pretty sure I know the trail crossing point in question (by the seven brother's chair). and while there is kind of a crest there, there is no way someone can sneak up... it is a flat, slow traverse. There is no way someone could get in my way on that particular slope and surprise me if I'm not in the air... of course I am extremely conservative in my riding... like I can carve my alpine board on steep black/double black runs... but only if they are "completely" empty... otherwise I'm worried about skiiers/riders "popping up out of nowhere" when I'm fully laid out in a carve... and then it would be my fault! I suppose it's true that the speeder didn't except people on a Monday morning.

However, just saying in general... if the person had be *cutting* through the woods... or crossing the trail at a non-official spot... say half way down a close run... and went under the landing of a jump (which are virtually all blind) I would say that would make that person negligent. There are tons of times I've been aggravated by people cutting me off in the park because they started on the edge of the slope half way down the trail and *didn't* check to make sure someone wasn't coming down the hill behind them. If you are "merging" back into traffic of the "shoulder" of a run... it's your duty to speed of appropriately and then merge only when it's safe.

[Pat Donnelly]

By Shelley Murphy, Globe Staff | June 30, 2005

A federal jury found yesterday that Sarah Walker, an aspiring model and ski instructor, was mostly to blame for a skiing accident at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H., and refused to award her any money for injuries she said had derailed her modeling career.

''I think it was a matter of wrong place, wrong time," said jury foreman John Sheehan of Walpole, who was surprised that a skiing accident had evolved into a federal case.

After two hours of deliberations, jurors found Walker was 95 percent responsible for a collision with Megan Lowry, 16, of Boxford, on Jan. 27, 2003, while Lowry was only 5 percent at fault.

Earlier, US District Magistrate Judge Robert Collings dismissed Walker's negligence claim against Lowry's parents, Nancy and Daniel Lowry.

Walker, 25, testified she was skiing down an expert slope when she came over a crest and collided with Lowry, who was crossing the trail while skiing with her parents and two brothers. Walker, who suffered facial and leg injuries that left her with a scar on her face and a limp, said that Lowry failed to look before crossing.

But Lowry's brother, Christopher, 14, who was snowboarding behind his sister, testified that Walker was airborne and skiing very fast at the time of the crash.

Daniel Lowry said the jury's verdict ''confirms what we knew all along. [Walker] was skiing recklessly that day. As much as you feel sorry for her injuries, they are of her own doing."

Walker voiced disbelief that jurors found her 95 percent responsible. ''I don't think it was fair," she said.

Jurors refused to award money to Walker, who had signed a modeling contract three months before the accident and testified she can no longer get work as a model because of her injuries.

[SWriverstone]

I hate straightliners. Straightliners are idiots. Straightliners are dangerous. Straightliners are of dubious intellect. :)

Seriously, anyone at an even moderately crowded public resort who bombs straight down the slope is a moron---I couldn't care less what their ability is. They could be a frickin' Olympic gold medalist, and they're still a moron.

And at our local resorts, people do it ALL the time...and it pi**ses me off! And I think our local resorts do a BAD job of enforcing the skier's responsibility code. They act as though they truly don't care or are helpless to do anything about it.

Can you tell this is a sore spot for me? :) I'll be amazed if I haven't gotten into a fistfight with some jerk in the next few years over this...(and believe it or not, I'm actually a very peaceable, non-conflict kind of guy---except when it comes to straightliners!)

(huff huff, steam steam)

Scott

PS - This Walker woman is a classic example of a straightliner moron. I'm astounded she had the gall to blame it on someone else.

[LeeW]

hmm. i wonder what's n.h.'s ski safety law is

[ak_rider]

Walker seemed to want to bring out the fact that she was not airborne coming over the crest of the hill. This fact demonstrates that she, and her legal team, were most likely unaware of the responsibility code. If she was, in fact, on snow, she was clearly out of control if she was unable to avoid the collision. Being in control means you can stop and/or avoid obstacles,including people, at any time regardless of who's up/downhill. It sounds like she's just another idiot straightliner who thinks speed=good, and when she screwed up began looking for any excuse. Her defense was filled with holes, and I'm glad the jury saw that. It also stated she was an instructor. I sincerely hope Loon Mtn has terminated her from this position. Someone who acts like this on the slopes is not the sort of example young/beginner skiers/boarders need to be exposed to.

[dantheman0177]

I used to participate in a pretty awesome surf life saving sport called IRB Racing. I won't go into much more detail apart from we used inflatable boats (Zodiacs) and 25HP outboards out in the surf. By 2001 we had the boats going above 50 km/h (say 30 mph) in up to 10 ft surf. It was great fun until somebody got injured and threatened to sue the Association. So in response the Association banned the sport, despite 99% of participants stating they were willing to sign waivers and pay insurance premiums. It was the death of a great fun winter pastime (when not on the slopes) and one which provided very valuable skills to our coastal lifeguards.

My opinion of people who sue when they get injured participating in an activity of their own free will and when aware of the potential risks does not warrant any further typing...

[skatha]

Grrrr......This is a perfect example of today's society "Let me free to screw up but don't make me take responsibilty when I screw up"!

I may not be the prettiest rider on the hill but I can stop on a dime for that one reason-I'm sure any skiier I run into will blame it on me, even if I'm the downhill rider.

I couldn't imagine riding with an Ipod, I spend the entire day listening for edges slussing (skiier) or scraping (guess who) on snow.....

[underdog]

cap'n morgan is 95% responsible for the ding in my dakota

i am only 5% liable

i like those numbers, btw the stop sign was the uphill rider :)

chris

[davekempmeister]

My kid can't find a see-saw to play on or a slide long enough to get a rush. When's the last time you saw a high-dive (other than NCAA or the like). I've a long hill on my property and though I let the neighborhood kids sled on it, my angst is palpable when they do. The annual company picnic is devoid of any alcohol for some years now and I saw a little league game recently in which the kid at bat looked like a catcher who didn't bother to take off his protective gear! How the he!! can you swing a bat or run like that? God forbid that the parked car you bump into at 1 mph exiting a curbside parking spot have an occupant. You'll know if it does when the door opens and they tumble out onto the asphalt. All sarcasm aside, I'm sure my point has been made. I drive K Street in D.C. every night @ 7-9- p.m. and constantly dodge jaywalking attorneys who appear from in between parked vans and cars dressed all in gray on rainy nights. I have no misconceptions about who would be "at fault/negligent" were I to hit one of them. More lawyers in Washington, D.C. than in the entire country of Japan - it's a "make work" culture by necessity. Creative thinking by industries that sell high-risk experiences will become increasingly necessary to deter the net effect of litigous participants. Imagine a scenario in which the line at the top of the hill is longer than that at the lift chair because rider's are released intermittently (unthinkable - or is it?) Everyone wearing different color mesh vests to indicate level of ability and hence, trail assignments. Who knows what. "Kill them all" is a quote that comes to mind. Lastly, if any lawyers read this and are offended, good, and if you are one that "specializes" in bottom feeding from the personal injury trough and cases like the aforementioned N.H. case, you are worse than criminal. The spirit of the law and justice has been hijacked and it saddens me.

[tex1230]

"

I drive K Street in D.C. every night @ 7-9- p.m. and constantly dodge jaywalking attorneys who appear from in between parked vans and cars dressed all in gray on rainy nights. "

You should be aiming for them...they caused all this mess...