Liability of Ski Rental Companies

**seano732** · 01-16-2017, 11:30 AM

So my sister-in-law, who is quite possibly the single most annoying person on Earth, is planning to sue a ski rental place in Durango, and I'm curious what the collective thinks..... Here's her story:

First of all, she is NOT a good skier. I've been out with her and her husband exactly one time, last year, and that was more than enough for me and my wife. She also has had knee issues in the past, and is a good 40-50 pounds overweight. So a few weeks ago, she rents some skis and tells them she is a solid "intermediate-advanced skier", they get her set up, and off they go. First run down the mountain (not sure of the run; BIL said it was a blue) she eats shit, her left ski doesn't release, and she blows her ACL and MCL....... Now, both her and her husband immediately go into victim mode, blaming the rental company, it's not our fault, etc. When I told them maybe she should have been honest and said she was beginner level, they looked at me like I had three heads. I then tried to explain the liability language that they signed when filling out the rental paperwork; again, I would have had better luck talking to a fucking toaster. She goes in for surgery tomorrow; the BIL says they've found a lawyer who "is gonna make this right".

I guess my question to the brethren is, they're out of their minds, right? I can't see a rental company being liable for you fucking yourself up while using their gear, but I'm no dentist/lawyer either....What say the mags?

**adrenalated** · 01-16-2017, 11:38 AM

I'm no dentist, but I suspect they'll lose the suit, provided the rental shop set up the skis correctly per the information given by the customer. First, the waivers and such that they sign when they rent the gear clearly state that injury is possible and that neither the shop nor the binding manufacturer is responsible for any damages. Second, the binding manufacturer indemnifies the shop, which basically means they will be fighting the binding manufacturer's legal department with big financial resources, not a low rent lawyer representing a small ski shop.

But hey, if they want some big legal expenses to go along with their medical bills, go for it. Lawyers gotta eat somehow.

**Bunion 2020** · 01-16-2017, 11:42 AM

A lot of Depends here.

What ski area did this occur at?

Was the rental associated with the ski area?

Did she get taken down off the hill by patrol?

Reason I ask is if Patrol was involved there is an accident form that was filled out.

On that form they ask a lot of questions including ability, trail, was the trail within ability, number of days skied etc.

If she didn't stick to the same answers as on the rental form there will be problems.

Most likely the Atty took this as a contingency case and hopes for a settlement in which he gets 33% minimum.

So, it all depends.

Please keep us updated.

**summit** · 01-16-2017, 11:42 AM

Ski rental shop shows the rental agreement and liability waiver where she marked down information that the tech used to determine the release settings. Assuming the shop set the gear right, then they fight the manufacturer, not the shop. It's probably a pretty quick GTFO as I imagine there is plenty of precedents out there.

IANAL so the above is probably slightly to totally wrong

**seano732** · 01-16-2017, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by bunion

A lot of Depends here.

What ski area did this occur at?

Was the rental associated with the ski area?

Did she get taken down off the hill by patrol?

Reason I ask is if Patrol was involved there is an accident form that was filled out.

On that form they ask a lot of questions including ability, trail, was the trail within ability, number of days skied etc.

If she didn't stick to the same answers as on the rental form there will be problems.

Most likely the Atty took this as a contingency case and hopes for a settlement in which he gets 33% minimum.

So, it all depends.

Please keep us updated.

#1- Purgatory
#2- Yes
#3- Yes

I wasn't exaggerating when I said she's annoying; I've seen this type of casting blame WAY too much in the last 20 years I've known her; the fact she is a self-proclaimed "militant Christian" makes it even worse. The MIL was over for Christmas and made some kind of comment to the effect that I wasn't being very sympathetic; I told her sympathy is in the dictionary between shit and syphilis. She hasn't been around much since......

**Foggy_Goggles** · 01-16-2017, 11:54 AM

"Sue the ski shop for what?" would be my first question.

I used to manage a rental shop that did pretty high volume. This type of shit came up a few times a year. It was part of doing business. Even if the equipment is not properly adjusted, which happens, it is pretty hard to prove. Many places how make you visually verify you DIN. The tough part is that the injured should declare that they were hurt and fill out an incident report at the shop. If they don't, the skis will get readjusted. If they do, the shop has a heads up and can check the adjustments and the record keeping.

Colorado is very pro ski industry. There are all type of precedents in place to make it pretty much tough shit for the customer.

**54-46** · 01-16-2017, 12:01 PM

Vibes all around. SMH (and I'm a lawyer)...

**4matic** · 01-16-2017, 12:02 PM

I wonder what weight she claimed on the rental form?

**seano732** · 01-16-2017, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by Foggy_Goggles

Colorado is very pro ski industry. There are all type of precedents in place to make it pretty much tough shit for the customer.

Yeah, this was another point I made to both of them..... Unsuccessfully.

**skifishbum** · 01-16-2017, 12:18 PM

#whatswrongwithskiing

**TBS** · 01-16-2017, 12:19 PM

IANAL nor Doctor but I'm gonna guess her history of knee problems isn't going to help her cause.

Maybe you could threaten to contact Purgatory and tell them SIL lied about ability on the rental forms and about her knees. SIL&BIL get pissed off and cut off all contact. Win-Win.

**billyk** · 01-16-2017, 12:38 PM

Not sure why you should be in the middle of this. You gave your opinion, which I think was sound thinking; now it is up to them to ignore it if they want, and face the consequences of a long legal fight that probably won't go their way, in my opinion.

**old goat** · 01-16-2017, 12:49 PM

Interesting to know if the lawyer is doing this on a contingency or for an hourly fee. An unscrupulous lawyer may take a BS case on a fee basis to try to milk a little out of a client. Or an inexperienced lawyer may take a case on contingency, do a little research and drop the case when they realize they're going to lose money on the deal, or hope to make a few bucks from a cheap nuisance suit settlement. I doubt a binding manufacturer is going to settle a case like this even for a trivial amount--just encourages more suits. But then I'm only an internet lawyer.

**summit** · 01-16-2017, 01:03 PM

Originally Posted by TBS

Maybe you could threaten to contact Purgatory and tell them SIL lied about ability on the rental forms and about her knees. SIL&BIL get pissed off and cut off all contact. Win-Win.

this is a good idea

**LightRanger** · 01-16-2017, 01:44 PM

Please post their reaction when they lose.

**RootSkier** · 01-16-2017, 01:46 PM

Next Christmas is going to be fun as hell after your SIL learns you got subpoenaed to testify because of this post.

**skiing-in-jackson** · 01-16-2017, 01:54 PM

This is why you have to initial and sign waivers no less than 6-8 times on any rental or shop form.

**seano732** · 01-16-2017, 02:59 PM

"Maybe you could threaten to contact Purgatory and tell them SIL lied about ability on the rental forms and about her knees. SIL&BIL get pissed off and cut off all contact. Win-Win"

Been there.... Had a good two years of no contact over her BS; it was nice, but stressed the Missus out, especially at the holidays.....

"Not sure why you should be in the middle of this. You gave your opinion, which I think was sound thinking; now it is up to them to ignore it if they want, and face the consequences of a long legal fight that probably won't go their way, in my opinion."

Not getting in the middle of anything; I was just curious if what I told them was in line with the reality of Colorado law......

"Next Christmas is going to be fun as hell after your SIL learns you got subpoenaed to testify because of this post."

Ummm, this is a joke, right? This whole thing seems to amount to a lack of personal responsibility/accountability, something like I said earlier I've seen a lot of from her.

**steezybomber** · 01-16-2017, 03:43 PM

im going to keep my opinion about your SIL to myself since I do not know her...and vibes for her injury. Regardless, knee surgery sucks and hopefully she feels better soon.

Im no lawyer/dentist either, but having filled out hundreds of these forms while working ski retail, we saw a couple of these a year. End of the day, they filled out the form and the shop held no liability. I havent seen or followed any litigation against big binding companies, but i imagine purely on the financial resources side, big company will crush it.

agreed that any sensible/ethical lawyer (cough, some do exist) they will prob not take the case after a little due diligence anyway.

good luck and keep us posted.

**baron** · 01-16-2017, 06:46 PM

if you fall backwards on skis , Naturally, when if you are losing control> YOU ARE A BEGINNER
(bindings do not release from the kind of tension put falling back>and you can really get fucked up)

Ability has little to do w what color run they choose to slide,swoosh, or skip, or hop ,or Ski! down

it is how controlled you actually ,are attempting to link some turns

Sounds like she would Sue the outhouse cause the toilet paper ran out.

**seano732** · 01-16-2017, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by steezybomber

im going to keep my opinion about your SIL to myself since I do not know her...and vibes for her injury. Regardless, knee surgery sucks and hopefully she feels better soon.

Im no lawyer/dentist either, but having filled out hundreds of these forms while working ski retail, we saw a couple of these a year. End of the day, they filled out the form and the shop held no liability. I havent seen or followed any litigation against big binding companies, but i imagine purely on the financial resources side, big company will crush it.

agreed that any sensible/ethical lawyer (cough, some do exist) they will prob not take the case after a little due diligence anyway.

good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks Steezy; I prolly am coming off as an unsympathetic ass, but ive seen this type of shit before, and it frustrates me they won't listen to anyfuckingbody that argues against their worldview.... Interesting that it'd be the binding companies who would potentially litigate and not the ski shop; not that I think it would matter either way.... I read the fine print when I rent the minis gear, and it seems pretty self-explanatory to me.....

**GPP33** · 01-16-2017, 07:35 PM

I'd be interested to know how she plans to prove they weren't set up properly which I assume is the premise of her suit. Was she smart enough to somehow document the the din setting was incorrect for her claimed ability/weight?

**Peruvian** · 01-16-2017, 07:42 PM

I'm just popping in to complain about my insurance premiums.

**old goat** · 01-16-2017, 09:55 PM

Originally Posted by seano732

.... Interesting that it'd be the binding companies who would potentially litigate and not the ski shop; not that I think it would matter either way.... I read the fine print when I rent the minis gear, and it seems pretty self-explanatory to me.....

That's what the indemnified binding list is all about. If the binding is on the list, has been torque tested per manufacturer's specs, adjusted to the correct DIN then the binding manufacturer defends any lawsuit related to the binding. If the binding is old and no longer on the list, the shop is stuck defending themselves.

**seano732** · 01-16-2017, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by old goat

That's what the indemnified binding list is all about. If the binding is on the list, has been torque tested per manufacturer's specs, adjusted to the correct DIN then the binding manufacturer defends any lawsuit related to the binding. If the binding is old and no longer on the list, the shop is stuck defending themselves.

Ah, got it..... Makes sense. Full disclosure, I'm a snowboarder.