By Izzy Lee

Gwyneth Paltrow. Photo credit: Georges Biard via Wikimedia Commons.

On February 26, 2016, award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and optometrist Terry Sanderson collided in a ski accident at the Deer Valley Ski Resort in Utah that ended up being heavily publicized. Although skiing-related accidents happen all the time, in this case, legal matters and Paltrow’s celebrity status made this case national news. 

The accident resulted in Sanderson breaking four ribs, while Paltrow had no serious injuries. On January 29, 2019, Sanderson sued Paltrow for $3.1 million dollars for hitting him on the ski slopes and causing significant injuries. However, the judge denied his requested dollar amount and said it needed to be lowered to $300,000. In response to the dramatic claim of the lawsuit, Paltrow countersued for $1 in the event that she would win the suit.

The Goop Jade Egg. Image credit: Goop.com.

Paltrow is no stranger to controversy. Along with her acting and her marriage (and “conscious uncoupling”) to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, she created the lifestyle brand Goop in 2018. She started a series of online shops involving fashion, wellness, and sex. Her brand was uncommon, as she addressed hard conversations and created products that few people are familiar with. Some products that prompted controversy were the Jade Egg, which supposedly increases sexual energy, and the “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle. For many people, these products may seem odd or amusing, but for Paltrow, her inspiration stemmed from “growing up getting messaging around the feminine care that was heavily scented with synthetic fragrances and all this kind of thing… I just felt it was time to make a bit of a feminist statement around accepting who we are and our femininity.”

One reason Goop has been controversial is due to the company providing false claims about their products. With the Jade Egg, Goop claimed that it will “balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles and improve bladder control.” However, after further investigation, scientists found that the Jade Egg does not provide those benefits. As the Jade Egg and other products, like Bee Sting Therapy, failed to meet their advertised results as products, Goop has had to pay $145,000 in civil suits for false advertising.

Sanderson in the courtroom. Photo credit: @PopBase on Twitter.

Sanderson’s defense in the ski accident lawsuit was that he continuously suffers from his injuries, even seven years after the accident. He believes he suffered from a severe concussion that has left him with a long-term brain injury. According to CBS News, Sanderson explicitly stated to the court that she “sent him ‘flying,’ and that all he saw was snow as he went out of control. The last thing he remembered, he said, ‘was thinking he should protect his face and head.’” He argued that he was the skier downhill, meaning he would have the right of way on the mountain. Only one witness was on his side of the courtroom claiming to see Paltrow hit Sanderson.

As reported by Megan Cerullo of CBS News, “According to the National Ski Areas Association’s responsibility code, which governs ski resorts in North America, ‘people ahead or downhill of you have the right of way. You must avoid them.’”  Similar to other ski accident cases, each of the lawyers insisted that their client was downhill and the other skier was uphill. The judge’s ultimate goal in determining the case was to figure out who truly was uphill and downhill, as that is the deciding factor in who is guilty of the accident in most skiing incidents.

Contrary to Sanderson, Paltrow’s main defense was to present medical records and prove that she was downhill on the slope. As for Sanderson’s medical records, Paltrow’s attorneys were able to show the judge that Sanderson’s injuries weren’t as extensive as he claimed. His post-accident lifestyle proved this inconsistency, as he pursued international travel often, which should have been limited by the injuries he claimed he had. Paltrow’s account of the incident was supported by her ski instructor, Eric Christansen, who said that Sanderson was blatantly uphill and out of control as he hit Paltrow on a beginner slope.

On March 30, the jury ultimately found Sanderson responsible for the 2016 crash, finding that he was uphill, and Paltrow was downhill at the time of the crash.

Featured image credit: Shutterstock via eonline.