In the winter months, many people take to the slopes for skiing, snowboarding, and other extreme activities. These sports usually involve individuals sliding down a mountainside of snow and ice. With numerous other people on the slopes and the propensity for falls, winter sports can often result in serious personal injuries or even death. So what happens when you suffer an injury while on the slopes?

Two Causes of Liability Determine Compensation

With more challenging trails, jumps, and maneuvers being attempted by winter sports enthusiasts, the amount of personal injuries caused by winter sports seem to have risen over the years. Some of the most common winter sports injuries result from collisions with other riders and fixed objects such as trees. Chair lift accidents, lack of proper instructions, and equipment failure can also lead to injuries.

When a winter sport causes an injury, there are two ways a lawsuit can be brought:

1. Negligence: This means that it is the fault of another person that the injury occurred. This can apply to others on the slopes that were acting recklessly, poorly maintained terrain, or an instructor pushing a rider beyond their means.
2. Defective product: There are many components that may go awry, such as the chairlift, bindings, protective gear failing, a board or set of skis falling apart, or even simple slop design defects. In these cases, a designer, manufacturer, or distributor can be held liable.

However, it should be noted that the assumption of risk doctrine will accompany many legal defenses to personal injury claims. Assumption of risk determines that the inherent risks of participating in these activities are too immense to be ignored. Since the injured party chose to participate in these activities, they are not entitled to compensation based on these risks.

Those that suffer from injuries due to other's reckless negligence, however, may be entitled to compensation from their losses.