Home › Chairlift, gondola and lift injuries
Chairlift and gondola injuries happen during loading, riding and unloading, and sometimes because of the lift itself. Utah law lists impact with lift towers as an inherent risk, but how a lift is run and maintained can raise different questions. The facts decide which applies.
Call (801) 255-2102By Nuttall Brown & Coutts
It depends on what happened. The Act treats hitting a lift tower or structure as an inherent risk, so that alone is generally not a claim against the resort. How a lift was loaded, run and maintained is a different question, and Utah has separate rules on lift safety.
Most lift injuries happen in the few seconds of loading and unloading. A chair can strike someone who is not in position. A rider can slip off a seat, especially a small child. A ramp can be icy or poorly shaped. Someone can get tangled with a pole, a backpack strap or another rider's equipment. Less often, a lift stops suddenly, rolls back, or has a mechanical problem.
Children are at special risk on chairlifts. They may not sit far enough back, may not be able to reach the restraint bar, or may slide under it. Parents and lift staff both play a part in keeping kids safe.
The Act lists impact with lift towers and other structures and their components, such as signs, posts and fences, as an inherent risk. So if a skier on a run hits a lift tower, the Act generally bars a claim against the resort for that impact. The Act's list does not mention how a lift is loaded, operated or maintained. Whether an injury on the lift itself is covered by the Act depends on the facts, and Utah courts have looked at whether a risk is truly an integral part of the sport or something a ski area could reasonably prevent.
We do not assume a lift injury is anyone's fault. Riders sometimes fall because of their own mistakes. But questions worth asking include whether the lift was running at the right speed, whether an attendant was in place and paying attention, whether the loading area was maintained, and whether the lift was stopped when someone was clearly in trouble.
Utah has a separate law on lift safety and inspections. It does not protect riders from the ordinary risks of skiing and snowboarding.
Lifts are complex machines, and ski areas keep records about them. Those can include operator logs, maintenance and inspection records, incident reports and staffing schedules. Ski patrol will often write a report when someone is hurt. These records belong to the resort. A lawyer may ask the resort to keep them. If a case goes forward, they can be requested through the legal process.
The same questions apply to gondolas, trams, magic carpets and rope tows. Surface lifts often serve beginners and children, so how they are set up and supervised can matter. If an injury happened on summer lift operations, such as scenic rides or mountain biking, different rules may apply, because the Act is written around skiing.
Hitting a lift tower is a listed inherent risk, while how a lift is loaded and run can raise other questions. Whether something else was involved depends on the facts. A lawyer can review them with you.
Questions after a ski or resort injury?
Hurt at a Utah ski area, or caring for someone who was? Tell us what happened and ask for a free review. You decide what happens next.
