Gwyneth Paltrow has told a jury that she was not the one to blame for the ski crash she is currently on trial for.

Paltrow is in a Utah court after being sued by 76-year-old Terry Sanderson, a retired optometrist who claims that seven years ago, she crashed into him while skiing at the Deer Valley Resort.

Sanderson has launched a lawsuit as he claims that the collision with Paltrow left him with a brain injury, concussion, four broken ribs and a number of other serious injuries.

The incident took place on 26 February, 2016, and Sanderson launched his lawsuit in 2019, where he says he was heading down the resort’s ‘Bandana’ run when he spotted signs telling him to slow down.

Complying with the signs on the ski slope, he then says he heard a ‘hysterical scream’ from behind him before he was hit in the back.

It was also claimed by Sanderson’s attorney that Paltrow wasn’t looking where she was going as she was looking at her children, who were also skiing with her at the resort.

Twitter/@9NewsSyd

Paltrow launched a countersuit claiming that it was in fact Sanderson who hit her during the ski crash and has taken to the witness stand in the trial to testify as such.

Yesterday (24 March) afternoon, Paltrow gave testimony saying that Sanderson ‘skied directly into my f***ing back’.

She said: “I was skiing and two skis came between my skis, forcing my legs apart and then there was a body pressing against me.

“My brain was trying to make sense of what was happening. I thought, ‘Is this a practical joke? Is someone doing something perverted?’

“I said ‘you skied directly into my f***ing back’ and he said ‘oh sorry, sorry, I’m sorry’.”

Paltrow said she was ‘very upset’ after the crash and when asked by Sanderson’s attorney whether she asked the then 69-year-old if he was alright, she said: “When you’re the victim of a crash, your psychology is not necessarily thinking about the person who perpetrated it.”

Twitter/@9NewsSyd

Sanderson’s original lawsuit was seeking over $3 million in damages but has been reduced to $300,000 after a judge gave a verdict that the 76-year-old could not seek punitive damages.

Paltrow, in turn, is seeking a symbolic settlement of $1 and legal fees, with her legal team claiming that Sanderson’s account of the crash is ‘utter BS’ and alleging that he is trying to get a payday out of her wealth and status.

In Utah law, the person further down the ski slope has right of way, and both Paltrow and Sanderson have said that they were the person in the crash who was further downhill.

Gwyneth Paltrow can leave Utah with her head held high after a jury cleared her of any wrongdoing over claims levied against her pertaining to an alleged ‘hit and run’ ski accident.

The Sliding Doors actor was accused by retired optometrist Terry Sanderson of causing him serious harm when she crashed into him at the Deer Valley resort in Utah back in 2016.

As a result, Sanderson took the Hollywood A-lister to court and it did not end very well for him.

After eight days of evidence, it took the jury only two hours to rule in Paltrow’s favor, with the court awarding her the USD$1 in damages she requested.

The 50-year-old star did not react when the jury announced their verdict, but gathered her things to high-tail it out of there.

And, as the Iron Man star stood and began to glide towards the door as court wrapped up after the jury read out their verdict.

She paused by Sanderson, bent towards him and whispered: ‘I wish you well’.

Classy move, Gwen.

Anyway, the whole thing was caught on camera with people on social media praising the star for her smooth move.

One user said: “QUEEN.”

Another added: “Don’t really like her but this is a slay. Why lie?”

Pop Base

@PopBase

·Follow

Gwyneth Paltrow has won her ski crash trial and has been awarded the $1 she requested.

3:43 PM · Mar 30, 2023

85.0K

Reply

Copy link

Read 520 replies

A third commented: “I need Gwyneth Paltrow to play herself in the limited series about this trial.”

We’ll bet the only one not cheering after her riposte was none other than Sanderson himself.

The jury found the retired optometrist as the person who was ‘100 per cent’ at fault for the skiing accident, Sky News reported.

After the verdict had been reached, Paltrow hit out at the retired optometrist’s ‘false claim’ in a statement provided to NBC.

“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,” she said.

“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.”

During her testimony, Paltrow told the court: “Mr. Sanderson categorically hit me on the ski slope, and that is the truth.”

Sanderson, 76, sued the Hollywood star for USD$300,000 (£242,000).

Paltrow refuted these claims, and slammed the man during the trial for causing her to lose ‘half a day of skiing’.

Well, she came out on top and had to visit Utah to defend herself, so we hope Paltrow went skiing for half a day to celebrate.

Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in court today (21 March) to stand trial over an alleged ‘hit and run’ ski accident.

The Sliding Doors actor is being sued for seriously injuring retired optometrist Terry Sanderson when she crashed into him at the Deer Valley resort in Utah back in 2016.

Sanderson claims that Paltrow‘s ‘reckless’ skiing landed him with four broken ribs and brain damage.

Paltrow, however, is counter-suing, arguing that it was Sanderson who hit into her with a ‘full body blow.’

Both Paltrow and Sanderson have accused the other of being ‘negligent’ while skiing.

Sanderson, 76, is seeking damages of $300,000, having had a previous claim for $3.1m dropped.

Court TV

In court today, Sanderson’s lawyer Lawrence Buhler accused Paltrow of turning to look up at her children while skiing, arguing that the Goop founder ‘knew what she was doing was dangerous’.

After hiring ‘multiple instructors’ at the cost of thousands of dollars, Buhler said that Paltrow had been out skiing with her two children.

“The children and their two instructors ski to the left,” he told the jury.

“Ms Paltrow skis down to the right, she turns her head up to look at her children.

“As she turns her head back down she screams and skis into the back of Terry Sanderson… they hit the ground hard and Ms Paltrow bounces off Terry.”

Buhler alleged that the crash caused Sanderson’s body to ‘smash to the ground’.

He added that, as a result of Paltrow’s ‘neglect and conscious choices’, Sanderson had been left with ‘four broken ribs and permanent brain damage’.

Court TV

Sanderson’s attorney then claimed that Paltrow didn’t say a word to Sanderson and instead ‘bolted’ down the mountain.

Speaking on Sanderson’s injuries after the crash, Buhler told the court that his client had displayed symptoms of a ‘persistent brain injury’ that would likely cause ‘problems with his brain for the rest of his life’.

He added: “These problems didn’t exist before the crash… and there is objective data that his ability to cope with life is diminished.”

Meanwhile, Paltrow’s representative Stephen Owens told the story differently.

“She’s skiing, enjoying herself and suddenly she sees two skis appear between her skis and a man comes up right behind her,” Owens said to the jury.

“They’re not going fast… [Sanderson] comes up almost body to body and starts groaning.

Court TV

“She doesn’t know what’s going on… she’s moving forward, they begin falling to the right and she’s feeling freaked out.”

Owens claimed that Paltrow tried to pull away from Sanderson, which caused them to fall, but Sanderson later said ‘words to the effect of “I didn’t see you.”‘

He added: “[Sanderson] said I’m sorry – he doesn’t deny saying sorry. He doesn’t remember it but he doesn’t deny it.”

The trial is expected to last eight days.

Gwyneth Paltrow is speaking out after winning a high-profile court case against a man who claimed she crashed into him while skiing.

The case came to an end on Thursday (30 March) with the court awarding the Oscar-winning actress the $1 damages she requested after hearing eight days of evidence

The verdict came after only two hours of deliberation, with the jury ruling in favour of Paltrow and placing ‘100 percent’ of fault on retired optometrist Terry Sanderson for the 2016 accident.

The 76-year-old sued the Goop wellness brand founder for $3,000,000.

The 50-year-old Sliding Doors star has since taken to Instagram to address the trial and said she is ‘pleased’ with the outcome.

gwnyethpaltrow/Instagram

“I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,” she wrote on her Instagram story.

“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.”

Meanwhile, Stephen Owens, Paltrow’s lawyer, said the actress had been ‘uncomfortable’ during proceedings.

“It takes a lot of courage does it not?” he said following the conclusion of the trial.

“[Mr Sanderson’s] life has been laid open – that’s because of him. He hit her. He hurt her and he wants three million dollars for it.

“That’s not fair. The easy thing for my client would have been to write a cheque and be done with it – but what does that tell her kids?

“It’s wrong, it’s actually wrong that he hurt her and he wants money from her.”

He went on: “This is a meritless claim.

gwenythpaltrow/Instagram

“You don’t throw a three-million-dollar bombshell in the courtroom, call her [Paltrow] King Kong, and walk away. You shouldn’t reward that.

“Gwyneth, who could have just paid it out, paid the ransom, said, ‘No I’m not doing that. I’m not going to have someone hurt me and then ask me for a lot of money. I’m not going to do it’.”

Paltrow denied Sanderson’s claims during the trial and told the court: “Mr. Sanderson categorically hit me on the ski slope, and that is the truth.”

Paltrow took to the stand for the first time on Friday (24 March) to be questioned and Sanderson took to the stand for the first time on Monday (27 March).

“It takes my breath away – this is hard, I don’t like going through this scene,” he said.

“I just remember everything was great and then I heard something I’ve never heard at a ski resort – a blood-curdling scream and then – boom – and it was like somebody was out of control, and going to hit a tree and was going to die, and that’s what I heard until I was hit.

“Oh my gosh, somebody is out of control and they’re really seriously out of control.”

After the jury ruled in her favour, Paltrow left the court with her head held high. Cameras also captured the moment she shared a few final words with her accuser.

She paused by Sanderson, bent towards him and whispered: “I wish you well.”

Now, Paltrow is free to celebrate the verdict with another skiing trip, or maybe some more rectal ozone therapy… or both?!