Ski Accident Lawyer in New York

Ski accidents happen every winter season in New York state, leading to devastating injuries and sometimes even fatalities. It is well known that skiing is a hazardous activity, and in many cases, injured skiers are personally responsible for their injuries and the accidents that caused them. However, there are some cases in which a resort operator or another skier acting recklessly could be held responsible for ski accident injuries. Ski law is governed by articles 18-101 through 18-108, also known as the safety and skiing code. This requires ski facilities to be maintained properly and to ensure that skiers conduct themselves adequately to minimize the risk of injuries.

You may not recognize that ski resort owners and ski operators have a responsibility to maintain general safety on their properties. This comes in the form of several different requirements:

• Marking manmade obstructions on ski slopes.
• Making sure that all trail maintenance vehicles have the right warning implements and devices.
• Informing skiers about their responsibilities on colorful and visible signs.
• Holding appropriate safety training prior to every season with employees.
• Expecting open slopes at least twice per day.
• Posting visibly at the entrance of a lift the degree of difficulty of the slopes that that lift goes to.
• To have personnel on site that are appropriately trained around ski activities.
• To develop written policies about how to handle skier reckless conduct.
• To designate personnel who are responsible for implementing that policy.
• To report any injuries or fatalities occurring on the ski resort.
• To maintain ski signage throughout the resort.

Likewise, skiers also have responsibilities when visiting a ski resort, including:

• Not to ski in a reckless manner.
• To ski only at the limit of their ability.
• To ski only in authorized areas.
• Not to ski on closed slopes.
• Not to damage or vandalize any part of the resort.
• To be familiar with trail information that has been posted for their benefit.
• To follow ski operator directions.
• Not to leave the scene of an accident leading to injuries.

If you have been injured in a serious accident caused by another person's reckless actions at a ski resort, you need to consult with a New York ski accident lawyer as soon as possible. This, in fact, may be the only way for you to recover the compensation needed to put the pieces of your life back together and to enable you to move on effectively into your future. With so much at stake, do not hesitate to consult with a qualified ski accident lawyer in New York as soon as possible after you have been hurt. Working directly with a ski accident lawyer may be your only opportunity to get full and fair compensation and to explain how the accident happened. Your decision to file a personal injury lawsuit could help you to move forward into a more successful future while knowing that your financial bills have been covered by this lawsuit.

It is not easy to file a lawsuit against a ski resort. Remember that many different ski resorts try to minimize their liability in any and all situations. They will go out of their way to educate you about the possible risks and to ensure that you know the dangers of going forward with ski activities. Furthermore, they may try to dissuade you from filing a lawsuit, even if you have been legitimately hurt directly as a result of their reckless behavior. With these complex factors at play, it is imperative that you have the right attorney to help you. As a ski accident lawyer in New York can inform you, you only have a limited period of time in which to file a lawsuit and failing to file a lawsuit in a timely fashion could block you from the recovery of compensation that you need to put your life back together. 

At Morgan & Morgan, we recognize how your life has probably been changed from this significant situation, and we work as hard as possible to represent the best interests of victims. If you're coping with a ski accident in New York and believe that it may have been caused by someone else's negligence or reckless behavior, it is vital that you consult with a qualified attorney immediately. This in fact may be the only opportunity for you to have your case heard and to know that you have done everything possible to protect yourself. There's no doubt that you as well as your family members are dealing with a great deal of stress following a ski accident. But if you discover that the ski accident was caused because a ski resort failed to have the appropriate safety information in place, or that the resort failed to do everything possible to minimize your overall risks, you need to be prepared to move forward with legal help right away.

The types of injuries that people sustain prior to visiting with a ski accident lawyer in New York will vary depending on the kind of activity they were undertaking at the time. When it comes to Nordic skiing, collarbone fracture, skier's thumb, ankle injuries, knee ligament damage, and shoulder dislocation are the most common. For alpine skiing, sprains, fractures, contusions, and lacerations are the most common. For snowboarding accidents, fractures are the leading injury in the sport, followed by sprains and contusions. For those people undertaking ski boarding activities, 35% of all injuries in that sport are fractures. The knees, lower legs, and ankles are all significantly at risk.

If you were already seriously hurt in a ski accident, there is a good chance you don't remember all of the details leading up to the incident. You may need to rely on other evidence, such as photos, videos, and statements from eyewitnesses to help piece together what ultimately happened. Your primary goal should be to recover as much as possible from your medical injuries, not to worry about the legal aspects of filing your claim. Thankfully, retaining an experienced ski accident lawyer in New York gives you the opportunity to heal as much as you can while also knowing that your rights are being protected in a case. 

It is not easy to file a lawsuit against a ski resort or an employee working at a ski resort. It can also be very challenging to collect the evidence you need to support your claim if you believe that the ski resort is responsible for your injuries. The sooner that you engage a ski accident attorney in New York, the easier it will be to collect this evidence and to make sure that you have protected your right to recover compensation. You should not have to be alone during this situation and you deserve to have a lawyer who cares about your future and is willing to do everything that is possible to protect your legal right to compensation. Make sure that you retain a legal team who has experience in dealing with ski accidents.

If you're living with the outcome of a ski accident and need more questions answered about your legal rights, contact Morgan & Morgan today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.