Man suing Gwyneth Paltrow stands before ski accident trial: ‘I’m living a different life now’ – National

The retired optometrist who sued actor Gwyneth Paltrow for allegedly crashing into him on a ski hill in 2016, stood in court on Monday as the scandalous trial moved on. the second week.

Paltrow, 50, has been charged with causing serious injury to Terry Sanderson after she collided with him while skiing at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.

Sanderson, 76, accused Paltrow of slipping on him, “knocking him so hard, knocking him out.” He claimed the collision caused “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of joy in life.”

He claimed that Paltrow let him collapse on the slope and slipped away. He is suing Paltrow for more than $300,000.

Paltrow disclaims all responsibility for the accident and is suing for $1 and attorney fees. She claims Sanderson was the one who hit her and is now suing to “exploit her fame and wealth”.

Before calling Sanderson on Monday, his attorney first called Craig Ramon, the sole witness to the ski crash, to testify again. Ramon was shown some of the messages he sent shortly after the ski collision, which claimed that he had seen Sanderson injured by Paltrow.

Sanderson next stood up. He said before the accident he was an “advanced-intermediate” skier, usually hitting the slopes two or three times a week.

He said recounting the accident was “difficult” for him. Sanderson testified that he heard a “scream of horror” before being hit in the back by another person on the skateboard, presumably Paltrow. He said the person’s ski pole hit below his shoulder blades and sent him “flying”.

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Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash test: Terry Sanderson testifies he was hit in the back by skier, ‘flying’

Sanderson said he fell to the ground and “passed out” briefly. When he regained consciousness, Sanderson testified that he was unable to move but knew a man was shouting at him. According to Sanderson, the unknown man was trying to “bully” him into believing he had hurt someone in the accident.

Sanderson testified that he only knew that it was Paltrow who hit him after he was helped down the slope and received medical attention.

“I’m living a different life now,” Sanderson said, referring to the long-term injuries he allegedly suffered from the crash. He testified that he couldn’t ski anymore.

Sanderson said he gets lost easily and has had a “difficult” relationship with his family since the ski crash. He became emotional in the stands, recounting how his daughters had reacted to the alleged changes in his personality due to the brain injury.

He said that the accident made him a “hermit” and caused him to lose his “spark” for the rest of his life.

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Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash test: Terry Sanderson blames Paltrow for his ‘different personality’

After cross-examination, Paltrow’s attorney, Stephen Owens, asserted there were some inconsistencies between Sanderson’s testimony and previous testimony. One such point of contradiction that Owens pointed to was the time period Sanderson claimed to be unconscious after the collision, with different timeframes in his testimony, testimony, and different medical records. .

Following Sanderson’s testimony, Paltrow’s attorneys are expected to summon her two children, Moses, 16, and Apple, 18 – who were present on the day of the incident – along with a guide. ski guide.

On Friday afternoon, Paltrow told an attorney from Sanderson’s team that she “did not engage in any dangerous behavior” on the day of the crash, saying she was skiing with her two children. as well as with Brad Falchuk – her boyfriend at the time. now her husband – and his two children.

At the time, the group was taking skiing lessons on the green run, considered the easiest run on the ski hill, when she said she felt a pair of skis get in the middle of the board. slip, she spread her legs wide and felt the “big body” hit her from behind.

“There was a body on top of me and there was a very strange growl,” she testified of the time of impact. “My brain is trying to understand what is happening. I thought, ‘I… is this a practical joke? Is someone, like, doing something perverted?’ This is really, really weird,” she said in her testimony, adding that she was “frozen” while trying to understand what was going on.

The pair skied down the hill for a short while, before “someone’s skis malfunctioned,” Paltrow testified, and they collapsed, Paltrow landing in Sanderson, their skis tangled together.

“He hit me in the back, yes, that’s exactly what happened,” Paltrow said, as the attorney reread part of her description of events from a testimony.

Paltrow said she waited for Sanderson to get up – “long enough for him to say he was fine” – before she left, adding that she did not inquire further about his condition and did not know the extent. his injuries at that time. time.

“I think you have to keep in mind that when you are the victim of a collision, yes, your mentality is not necessarily about the person who caused it,” Paltrow testified.

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‘I didn’t cause an accident’: Gwyneth Paltrow testifies in ski crash trial

In her testimony, Paltrow said she suffered from “excessive” right knee pain and back pain after Sanderson collided with her from behind. In a widely circulated clip, Paltrow testified that she had “taken half a day skiing” due to her alleged injury. Her attorneys entered a $8,980 daily ski trip receipt on Friday, documenting the amount being paid to her and her two children for use of the luxury runs.

Paltrow said she felt sympathy for Sanderson, but said she didn’t show him the brain injuries that showed up on magnetic resonance imaging he received in 2016.

“I feel very sorry for him. It seems like he had a very difficult life, but I didn’t cause the accident so I can’t be faulted for anything that then happened to him,” she testified.