Gwenyth Paltrow, chances are you have heard of the name. She is a renowned actress. Gwenyth has been around for many years and is well known in the film industry. Gwenyth has received many awards, such as the Prime Time Emmy award, and has also won the Golden Globe award.
She was born on September 27, 1972, and since then has been in many films such as “Se7en“, “The perfect murder,” “Emma” and many more. Recently the name has been in discussion as Gwenyth Paltrow has been in a ski accident and has been facing a trial.
The accuser has sued Gwenyth for skiing out of control and requested the court to punish her and pay for the damage she has done. On the other hand, Gwenyth has counter-sued the accuser saying that she is being taken advantage of because of her fame and money.
It is not new for people to see a celebrity go up against a common man, but this time it is different as people trust and believe in Gwenyth. She has not been in a lot of controversies, and thus, people are not criticizing her. They still believe in their favorite actress. So, what actually happened that day? Is Gwenyth really a mistake?
Well, the trial has already begun and ended, and the court has announced its decision, but in case you have missed the whole thing and did not know what happened and what events unfolded themselves that day in the court, then here is a detailed summary of everything that happened during the Gwenyth Paltrow ski accident trial.
What is the case about?
A lot of stories came to our ears from that day. Everyone has a different memory of the accident. It is only understandable that the stories of the accuser, Terry Sanderson, and the accused, Gwenyth Paltrow are not similar in any way. The two have a story that makes the other person looks like they are at fault. So, let us look at what the two parties have to say about the incident that took place.
Terry Sanderson’s POV:
Terry Sanderson, a retired doctor belonging to the city of Utah, has filed a lawsuit against Gwenyth Paltrow. Terry claims that during the year 2016, he was skiing at Deer Valley Resort. So was Paltrow. Terry claims that he was skiing there, trying to enjoy his time, and Paltrow was also present at the premises.
Sanderson said that he was downhill, and he saw Paltrow skiing recklessly. He claims that Paltrow was moving way too fast and was skiing in a dangerous manner that is too risky for a beginner-level skier. He said Gwenyth was out of control, and she soon rammed into him.
The old man claims that this was not a minor accident, as he was completely knocked out upon feeling the impact. He said that Gwenyth gave her a concussion, a brain injury, four broken ribs, and many other injuries. He feels that it is very hard to suffer such circumstances as a 69-year-old.
In an interview, Terry said that the recovery process was hard and slow as his body is in its last stages, and thus it takes a lot of time for him to heal and recover from such serious injuries. He said, “You can feel your ribs breaking again. Even after three months, you feel them cracking”.
The story does not just end there,e as Terry also claims that after the accident, he was not provided with any kind of assistance. He said that after Paltrow crashed into him, she simply got up, looked at him, and then skied away. Leaving the injured man there in the snow.
Terry told the court that after the incident, Eric, Paltrow’s skiing instructor, came to him and accused him. Terry said that Eric started blaming him for the crash. He also said that Eric was not nearby when the accident happened, and there was no way he could know who was at fault.
He also says that Eric filed a false report against him, putting Sanderson at fault for the accident. He claims that he was skiing downhill, and thus he had the right of way. Terry says that Gwenyth should have been more careful and attentive. He claims he suffered severe injuries.
Gwenyth Paltrow’s POV:
According to Gwenyth, there are always two sides to a story, and this is how the events unfolded. Gwenyth has been counter-suing Terry; she believes that she is being taken advantage of and that she was not at fault for the accident, so let us look at what the movie star Gwenyth Paltrow has to say about the accident.
It is understandable that Gwenyth’s story is completely different from what we heard from Terry Sanderson. In her claim, Gwenyth says that she was the one who was downhill, and Sanderson was uphill, thus giving her the right of way.
Gwenyth says that it was Sanderson who crashed into her and said that she was on the receiving end of a full-body blow from behind. She said that after the crash, Terry apologized to her and said that he didn’t remember what had just happened.
Paltrow said that when she was skiing, she was downhill, and being a mom, she also had to look after her son. She said that her eyes were fixated on his son, and suddenly two skis came between her legs that forced her legs to spread wide. Afterward, she felt a body pressing up against her back. Paltrow said that she could not make out what was happening.
Gwenyth also said that the whole accident took place right in front of Eric, which is opposite from Terry’s version of the story, which claims that Eric was not even near when the whole thing happened. Gwenyth said that her injuries were mild, and she did not suffer any major injuries or suffer from any problems due to the incident.
Gwenyth only said that she did not suffer any damages from the incident, only that her day was ruined and there was no skiing after that. It is clear that both Gwenyth and Sanderson have way different stories, and both their stories make them look innocent and portray them as the victim.
What are the two parties asking for:
Gwenyth is not asking for thousands or millions of dollars. In fact, she is only seeking one dollar in damages and her attorney’s fees from Terry Sanderson. It is clear to see that Gwenyth is only becoming a part of this trial to clear her name.
She is not asking for anything that makes her look greedy. She is only in it so that she can prove her innocence and show the world that she is not the one at fault. Terry also offered Paltrow to settle the case, but she did not buy it and instead filed a lawsuit against Terry Sanderson.
On the other hand, Terry Sanderson first tried suing Gwenyth Paltrow for three million dollars, but his claim was rejected, and the court made him come down to a reasonable amount of three hundred thousand dollars. Sanderson is asking for a lot of money as he says that Gwenyth needs to pay for the damage she did to him and the bills he had to pay to make him feel better.
What happened during the trial:
The trial that happened between the two parties, i.e., Gwenyth Paltrow and Terry Sanderson, took more than a week to conclude. Many believe that the trial was not necessary and it was a waste of time. A lot of events happened during the trial, and some key moments helped the court reach its decision. So, let us also take a look at what happened inside the courtroom.
One of the most important and probably the biggest moments during the trial is Paltrows’s and Sanderson’s testimonies that we discussed earlier. Both parties said what they believed to be true, and the court made its judgment after hearing everything.
Ski collision animation:
Gwenyth Paltrow’s attorney presented the court with an animated version of the collision. The animation demonstrated how the events leading to the crash happened from Gwenyth’s point of view. Palatrow’s attorney agreed that the animation only shows what Gwenyth believed happened, and Sanderson and his attorneys are free to believe their side of the story.
In the animation, we see Sanderson crashing into Paltrow exactly as she described. The animation was shown to Dr. Irving, who is a biomechanical engineer, and he was satisfied with it. Dr. Irving agreed that the animation looks believable, and it is possible that the events went down, as shown in the animation. Let us dive deeper into what Dr. Irving had to say about the accident.
Dr. Irving’s testimony:
Another thing that helped the court come to its conclusion was the testimony of the biomechanical engineer Dr. Irving Scher. He broke down the science of the accident. Dr. Irving was asked if, in his opinion, Paltrow’s account is consistent with what he knows about biomechanical engineering, to which he replied, “Yes, it is.”
Dr. Irving was asked if the story is true if seen from the point of view of the laws of physics, to which he again said yes. The court itself admitted that Irving’s testimony was a big factor in their decision as he is an expert and thus can be relied upon.
The defense also claimed that the only eyewitness to the whole accident was a person named Craig Ramon. Craig Ramon claimed that he saw the whole thing and witnessed Paltrow skiing into Terry Sanderson. Although his story was heard, Dr. Irving disregarded it by saying that Craig’s version of the story does not make sense.
Irving, when asked, “What about Ramon’s version” replied,” For Mr. Ramon’s version, I could not get it to work. It does not match the laws of physics. The complete part of his testimony does not fit.” Irving explained to the court why the story told by Craig didn’t work and why it did not match the laws of physics.
He also said that maybe all the injuries faced by Sanderson were not due to Paltrow. He said, “You can get lateral rib fractures with an impact of the side with your arm down or with your arm up.” This was not a good sign for Terry Sanderson as an expert was disregarding all the claims he made against Paltrow.
Craig Ramon’s testimony:
Another controversial thing that happened during the trial was the testimony of Craig Ramon. As we mentioned before, Craig Ramon was the eyewitness that claimed it was Gwenyth who crashed into Sanderson. There were some moments when Craig fumbled during his testimony.
Craig was asked if, after the crash, Eric came to him and said, “Your buddy took out Gwenyth.” To which Craig replied yes, he did. The part of the story that does not sit right is that Craig said he did not correct Eric at that time. Craig told the jury that he did not want to get into an argument, and thus he did not correct Eric when he said those words. But almost seven years later, he decided to tell the truth and appear in court.
Craig had some credibility issues. It is hard to believe his story, and although the jury may r may not have believed the words coming out of Ramon’s mouth, the people witnessing the trial sure did not believe in him. Having an eye witness like Craig did not help Terry with strengthening his case.
Sanderson’s controversial E-mail:
Terry Sanderson was questioned about a mail he sent to his daughter talking about the crash in which he mentioned that he is famous because it’s cool that he had a collision with a celebrity. Having that kind of mentality when you are in a crash and get major injuries is hard. It is also hard to believe that someone would write such things after being in an accident.
Terry Sanderson, in her testimony, said that he never thought it was cool that he had a collision with a celebrity which is completely opposite of what he wrote in the mail. Having such controversial moments can cause the jury to stop trusting you, and these mistakes made by Terry certainly did so.
Mr. Sanderson’s activities:
It is not a surprise that Sanderson blamed Paltrow for the crash and claimed that he had to suffer a number of injuries. He painted a picture where he had several broken ribs and other injuries. He said that his injuries did not go away and he was not what he used to be. It seemed like Sanderson had a hard life after the incident, but his travel records show otherwise.
The record clearly shows that Sanderson visited a number of places after the accident, which really made it seem like he was lying about the injuries. Looking at the record, one can clearly see that he walked the golden trail in Peru, floated down the Amazon, and also rode a zipline in Costa Rica. Apart from these places, he also visited other countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, etc.
Sanderson being able to do all these activities after the accident made it seem like he was exaggerating his injuries and was not hurt as badly as he claimed in court.
Jury’s final decision:
From the evidence provided and hearing the testimony of both sides, it was easy for the jury to conclude that Terry Sanderson was at fault for the accident. Gwenyth Paltrow won the trial, and it was proved that it was Terry who crashed into her on that day. Terry Sanderson knew about Gwenyth Paltrow and was only looking for a way to make some easy money.
Sadly, Sanderson’s trick was not played well, and thus it did not work out for him. After the trial, Gwenyth Paltrow won a small amount of one dollar that she sued Sanderson for and walked out of the courtroom with her head held high. The whole reason for Paltrow to sue Sanderson was not the money but to save her integrity and name.
A lot of mistakes were made on Terry’s part; his stories were not straight. There were a lot of times that he fumbled and, at times, said something completely opposite to what he had said earlier. The jury found Terry Sanderson hundred percent at fault, and he went out of that court as a guilty person.
After the trial was over and the jury decided, Gwenyth Paltrow went out of court. On her way, she touched Terry Sanderson’s shoulder and said, “I wish you well,” to which he replied, “Thank you, dear.”
After the Trial, Sanderson talked to the media, where he said, “Of course, you get some assumed credibility for being a famous person. Who wants to take on a celebrity? No wonder I hesitated. Who wants to do that? Someone who runs lines and learns how to play someone else’s part.”
Gwenyth Paltrow won not only the case but also her integrity. She was in this only to defend her name and uncover the truth, which she did. She came out as innocent, and everybody could see that she was the victim.
The evidence provided by Paltrow’s lawyers was very solid. It was easy to see that Paltrow was bound to win this case since it began as Sanderson made many mistakes and said many controversial things, which only hinted that his stories were made up. Paltrow always stuck to what she said, which, as we later discovered, was the truth.
Paltrow was satisfied by the jury’s decision. After the trial, she talked to the media and said, “I felt that consenting to a false claim compromised my integrity. I am pleased with the outcome, and I appreciate all of the hard work of Judge Holmberg and the jury, and thank them for their thoughtfulness in handling this case.”
Also Read: Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard Trial Verdict – The Conclusion
