Home › Ski school, lesson and rental equipment injuries
Ski lessons and rental equipment are services, not just parts of the mountain. When an instructor takes a student onto unsafe terrain, or rental gear is set up wrong, the questions are different from an ordinary fall. Rental and lesson forms usually include a release, which Utah courts have treated in different ways.
Call (801) 255-2102By Nuttall Brown & Coutts
Possibly, depending on who set the bindings and how. Wrong settings, mismatched boots or worn parts can cause injuries that are not part of the sport. Keep the gear unchanged and the rental form, which usually lists the settings. Whether the shop was run by the resort or an independent business also matters.
Rental shops set ski bindings to release based on a skier's weight, height, age, boot size and ability. If the settings are wrong, a binding may not release in a fall, which can cause a twisting injury to the knee or leg. A binding may also release too easily, causing an unexpected fall. Boots that do not fit the bindings, worn parts and gear that was not checked are other issues.
If rental gear may have played a part in your injury, keep it as it is if you still have it, or ask the shop in writing to keep it. Do not adjust the bindings. The settings at the time of the injury are often the most important evidence. Keep the rental form, which usually lists the information used to set the bindings.
Some rental shops are run by the ski area. Others are independent businesses in town or at the base. That matters, because the Inherent Risks of Skiing Act is about ski area operators, and an independent shop is a different kind of business. We look at who rented the gear and who adjusted it.
Ski and snowboard schools hold themselves out as teaching people safely. A lesson can raise questions if an instructor takes a beginner onto terrain far beyond their ability, separates a child from the group, ignores a student who is clearly struggling, or does not follow the school's own safety rules. Falls are a normal part of learning, so a lesson injury is not automatically anyone's fault. The Act lists skiing beyond one's ability as an inherent risk, and the line between that and an instructor's choices depends on the facts.
Many lesson injuries involve children. Parents usually sign forms for their kids. Utah courts have limited how far a parent's signature can give up a child's claims, but each form has to be read on its own.
Rental and lesson forms almost always include a release of liability. In Utah, a ski area's release does not always end a claim, and releases from other businesses can be treated differently. See waivers and releases. Do not assume a signed form ends your options, and do not assume it does not.
A lesson or rental injury can involve both inherent risks and choices made by a shop or instructor. 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.
