If you have been following our updates with Gwyneth Paltrow ski accident case, you already know how crazy it has been! Otherwise, strap on the helmet…
The lawsuit against Gwyneth was filed by a retired optometrist on her behalf Terry Sanderson through the 2016 collision on the slopes. He said the actress hit him from behind on a beginner ski course and caused him a “brain injury, four broken ribs, and other serious injuries.” The suit states he left without asking if he was okay. Sanderson also said ski instructor Gwyneth Eric Christiansen was told to handle the situation – and filed an incident report alleging Sanderson was the one who ran to Paltrow instead.
So what happened? For what seemed like such a simple dispute, the jurors must have been done for him.
Related: Gwyneth Reveals The Weirdest Fitness She’s Ever Tried
Just last week Avengers star went as far as to claim in the stands that she thought during the collision that Sanderson was trying to sexually assault her on the slopes of the Deer Valley resort. He said with his legs tangled and his voice “groaning” after the accident his thoughts jumped to the worst:
“Is this the person who did something wrong? I tried to collect what happened behind me. He made a strange noise that sounded like a boy and he was big, so I thought he was a boy. I was confused at first because it was so strange that it happened on the ski slope. I became very upset a few seconds later. Someone pushed me and he made a groaning sound. I don’t know, is this a practical joke or someone did something wrong?”
Did he try to excuse himself? To damage the plaintiff in the minds of the jury? Or is he just being completely honest? Whatever the reason, it’s a shocking thing to say. But Gwyneth’s overall strategy – referring to recognition and being disturbed by the norm – seems to convince the jury that this is a on purpose action by Sanderson. Which makes this one piece of evidence look really bad for him…
See, Sanderson apparently sent an email to his daughter shortly after the accident with a subject line that read “I’m Famous.” Well…
The 76-year-old’s response to questions about this, as explained to the jury on Monday, was that his head was “scrambled” after suffering a brain injury:
“Again, my head is pounding, [but] all I was trying to do was desperate to communicate with my children before they heard from others [that] I’m crushed. I didn’t choose my words well, it wasn’t how I felt, and I really tried to add to the seriousness of the situation and became withdrawn.
Of course he was just talking about serious injury issues with his father’s terrible humor. But the fact that he brought up his fame does not look good at all, not when he tries to argue that this is only because of who he is. Will his explanation satisfy the jury?
Sanderson also recalled telling her daughter that someone had to have a recording of the incident — but it wasn’t her. He sometimes uses a GoPro camera while skiing but unfortunately forgot it that day, so I don’t have my own recording. He maintains:
“I would love to have it [footage]. That’s what we need.
Another eye-opening detail? In his own version of the crash, Sanderson recalled hearing “blood-curdling screams” from behind him before the crash:
“I just remember everything was good and then I heard something I’ve heard before in a ski resort, and that scream blood-curling. Then, boom, it’s like someone lost control and hit a tree and was going to die. That’s me [remembered] until I was hit.”
It seems understandable that someone on a beginner ski field would scream like that if they lost control and didn’t know what to do… Oscar– the winning actress. Did anyone else hear the screams? Are others close enough? These are all questions that the defense will surely point to….
Sanderson also reiterated to the jury how hard the collision was, describing:
“I was hit on my back very … right on my shoulder, and the fist and the pole were on the lower side of my shoulder, serious and serious. Never hit sad.”
Ch-ch-check out the full testimonial (below):
This case is sure to be very interesting. Whose side are you on, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF (below).
[Image via YouTube/Law&Crime Network]