Gwyneth Paltrow: Who’s who in the skiing accident trial involving the actress

Paltrow’s accuser, Terry Sanderson, will testify Monday, as will three members of his family.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is on trial for a 2016 skiing accident in the US state of Utah. uA retired optometrist says he was run over by the Academy Award-winning actress on a resort runway and is suffering from “loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and disfigurement”.

Terry Sanderson, now 76, says Paltrow was distracted and was responsible for the crash. He is seeking compensation of US$300,000 (about R$1.5 million).

Initially, it sought $3.1 million (R$16 million) in what it considers a “hit and run” case, but that first lawsuit, since 2019, was filed in May last year.

Paltrow, 50, denies the charge and is seeking nominal damages of $1 plus reimbursement of court costs.

The civil trial revolved around the testimony of the many characters in the case or who were named. Find out more about them:

Terry Sanderson

The retired optometrist, who says he has never been injured in more than 30 years of skiing, accuses the actress of being ‘reckless’ and hitting him from behind on a beginner ski slope at the exclusive Deer Valley Resort in western Utah.

Sanderson’s lawyers say Paltrow was distracted by her children and fell on top of him, leaving him “laying in the snow” without asking for help.

He claims the crash, which occurred in February 2016, left him unconscious and caused a brain injury and four broken ribs.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Movie star and current health and lifestyle influencer, Paltrow denies the older man’s story and claims he was the one who crashed into her back while skiing.

When testifying last Friday (3/24), the actress said she was walking down a hill when she saw a pair of skis appear between hers, heard “strange grunts” and felt a body hit her from behind.

Her first impression was that she was being sexually abused, because they fell to the ground together, their skis tangled, and were “nearly cupping”.

Paltrow told the court she yelled profanity at Sanderson and didn’t ask him if he was okay because she felt “hurt and violated.” The crash left Paltrow with a sore knee but no other injuries.

His lawyers argue that Sanderson filed the lawsuit because Paltrow is a celebrity.

They also allege that the crash was due to Sanderson’s pre-existing medical conditions, including loss of hearing and vision from a stroke.

Sanderson’s daughters

Two of Sanderson’s daughters, Polly Sanderson-Grasham and Shae Herath, testified last week. They claim their father has changed significantly since the accident.

Sanderson-Grasham said a once “outgoing” and “sociable” man is now “agitated” and “easily frustrated.”

Tearfully, she recounted one particular incident in which her father looked so distraught that “it felt like drool was going to drip from his mouth.” She said she knew there was something “terribly wrong” with Sanderson.

She also said her father became “obsessed” with getting an apology from Paltrow.

On Friday, Paltrow’s attorneys questioned Herath about the emails he exchanged with his father. In an email with the subject line “I’m famous… At what price?” Sanderson said it was “nice” to bump into a celebrity.

The daughter, for her part, said that Sanderson had become “very insecure” and “no longer trusts her brain”, adding that her daughter no longer wanted to be with her grandfather because he abused her with words.

“This is not my father. This is an alternate version of my father,” he said.

Paltrow family

The defense will call Paltrow’s two sons with Coldplay singer Chris Martin — Apple, 18, and Moses, 16 — as well as her now husband, Brad Falchuk, to the booth this week.

The court heard the actress arranged the ski trip so her children could “get together” with Falchuk, a TV producer and writer she married in 2018.

Paltrow said she paid more than $9,000 for private ski lessons at the resort that day.

Sanderson’s lawyers say Moses, then 9, yelled “Mom, Mommy, look at me” and his mother cocked her head to the side before the crash occurred.

Sanderson’s doctors

Sanderson’s lawyers summoned four doctors to testify as experts to support their story.

Neuropsychologist Alina Fong said Sanderson had been “battling concussion symptoms for a year and a half” when she first saw him in May 2017.

Symptoms included “mood and personality changes, body aches and headaches” that “completely changed her life,” she said.

Sam Goldstein, another neuropsychologist, said Sanderson’s problems were “the kind of thing you understand best if you follow someone for two weeks.”

Wendell Gibby, a neuroradiologist who reviewed Sanderson’s medical history, described him as an intelligent man who had clearly lost “the ability to function at a high level.”

She added that “the abrupt change in her behavior and ability to interact with people was not caused by her pre-existing conditions.”

the eyewitness

The collision was reportedly captured on a GoPro camera, but the footage could not be found or included as evidence at trial.

Paltrow’s legal team considers the video “the most important evidence” for the trial, which would show that she was positioned underneath Sanderson on the descent and therefore, in accordance with skiing rules, had right of way.

It’s unclear why the images, if they existed, disappeared, but there was at least one eyewitness to the incident.

Craig Ramone, 58, an acquaintance of Sanderson’s, told the court last week they were skiing together when he heard a scream and saw Paltrow “hit [em Sanderson] straight to the back”.

The crash left his friend “face down with Gwyneth on top of him”. According to him, the actress managed to extricate herself and fled the scene while her friend lay unresponsive.

Source: Terra

Amanda

I am Amanda Gans, a motivated and ambitious professional in the news writing industry. With over five years of experience in this field, I have developed an eye for detail and an ability to craft stories that captivate readers. I currently write for Gossipify, where I specialize in beauty & celebrities news. My passion lies with exploring the world of beauty through writing, interviewing experts and developing articles that are both informative and entertaining.