Kenneth Salvini v. Ski Lifts Inc.

Negligently Designed and Constructed Jump Causes Quadriplegia, Record Ski Verdict

County/District: King County Superior Court - Kent Regional Justice Center
Cause/Case #: 05-2-13652-9 SEA

Plaintiff(s): Kenneth Salvini, Jeanne Salvini and Edward Salvini

Defendant(s): Ski Lifts Inc. d/b/a The Summit at Snoqualmie

Trial Date: March 6, 2007 Length: 5 Weeks; Verdict, April 6, 2007

Trial Judge: Honorable Laura Inveen

Plaintiffs Atty, Firm, City: John R. (Jack) Connelly, Jr. Law Offices of John R. Connelly, Jr. 2301 N. 30th St. Tacoma, WA. 98403; James Beck, Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell, 2100 Wells Fargo Plaza, Tacoma, WA. 98401

Defendants Atty, Firm, City: Ruth Neilsen, Nielsen Law Office, Inc. Seattle, WA. P.S. & Wendy Lyon, Riddell Williams P.S. Seattle, WA.

Insurance Company: AIG Insurance Company - New York

Plaintiff Doctors, Specialty, City: Dr. Paul Nutter, Rainier Rehabilitation - Puyallup, WA. Spinal Cord Injuries

Plaintiff Experts, Specialty, City:
Dr. Mont Hubbard - University of California, Davis. Aeronautical engineering - ski jumps;
Dr. Wilson (Toby) Hayes - Corvallis Oregon, Biomechanics, Applied Engineering;
Dr. Richard Gill - Spokane, WA., Human Factors, Safety Engineering; Risk Management;
Helge Lien - Norway - Skiing, Civil Engineering;
Dick Penniman, Tahoe, Skiing Safety, Ski Patrol Issues;
Jane Vaccaro - Gig Harbor, WA. - Life Care Planning;
Robert Moss - Seattle, WA. Economics

Defense Experts, Specialty, City:
Dr. Jaspar Shealy - Human Factors, Industrial Engineering, Ski Safety, Ski injuries;
Elia Hamilton - Mt. Snow, Vermont - Ski resort management; Jump Design
John Rice - Sierra at Tahoe - Ski resort management; jump design; Risk Management;
Shawn Smith - Stevens Pass - Ski Technique, Jumping technique;

Facts

Kenny Salvini, a 23 year old skier who had been skiing since age 4, went off one of the jumps in the terrain park at Snoqualmie Central. He landed past the landing area of the jump and suffered a jumped facet injury which left him a complete C-3,4 quadriplegic.

The tabletop jump which Kenny went off of had never been designed or engineered. It was placed at the bottom of the long Bonanza slope - permitting skiers to gain a lot of speed before hitting it - and was placed in front of a flat area where the slope was only 5 degrees. It was not designed ahead of time and was built by eyeballing a mound of snow and pushing it with a CAT into a big pile for kids to jump off of. The jumps in these terrain parks, which are now found in 80% of the ski resorts across the country, are not engineered and are constructed by snowboarders based on what appears to be "fun." The evidence at trial showed that they are getting increasingly large and many of the designs are exceptionally dangerous. The jump Kenny Salvini went off of was the equivalent of jumping over a three story house and falling from a height of 37 feet onto flat, compact snow and ice. Most of the people using the terrain parks are not aware that they are being subjected to these fall heights and are not aware that there is no engineering going into the jumps.

The evidence revealed that competition jumps are built according to plans and specifications but that recreational jumps are not being built in the same manner.

There were 44 accidents on the jump in the 60 days before Kenny's accident. Twenty two of these accidents involved skiers landing past the short landing area. Fifteen of these prior accidents were admitted for the limited purpose of notice. One of them involved a sponsored snowboarder who broke two vertebrae in his back when he landed past the short landing area 6 days before Kenny's accident. At the aid station the snowboarder expressly informed Ski Lifts Inc. that the jump was not built properly and needed a larger landing area. In the 17 days before Kenny's accident there were 10 reported injuries and 8 skiers taken off the jump on toboggans - including one two and one-half hours before Kenny's accident. The terrain park manager testified that they never considered closing the jump and evaluating the landing. Instead the resort simply posted a whiteboard sign stating that "injuries occur when skiers overshoot the landing." The evidence revealed that few people saw the sign, including the resort manager who went skiing before Kenny's accident and didn't even know it was there. The evidence revealed that Ski Lifts Inc. was not reviewing the accident reports and was not doing anything to evaluate the safety of the jumps in its terrain park on any systematic basis.

Injuries/Fractures/Surgery: C-3,4 quadriplegia; Fractured vertebrae at T-4 and T-7; Fractured Femur.

Age of Decedent, Survivors: Kenny was 23 years old at the time of the accident.

Plaintiff Age, Gender & Occupation: 23 years old, graduate from Central Washington University in Electrical Engineering Technology; Kenny was a collegiate wrestler - captain of the Central Washington wrestling team, and outstanding wakeboarder and an expert skier;

Medical Expenses: Past Medical Expenses $424,000; Future Medical and Attendant Care Expenses: $21 to $23 million; Lost Wages $2.4 million;

Days in Hosp. 2 months plus continuing rehospitalizations; General Damages; Quadriplegia

Demand Close to $5 million during the first week of trial; $6.5 million afterward; Plff asked jury for $ $36 - $38 million

Offer $1 million; $1.5 million during trial; Def asked jury for Defense Verdict;

Settlement Mediator: Theresa Wakeen;
Gross Verdict/Settlement $30,763,187 for Kenny;
$365,040 for Jeanne for attendant care services;
$112,320 for Edward Salvini for attendant care services;

Contrib.Neg.and the attendant risks of the Sport 55%
Net Recovery:
$13,843,434.00 for Kenny Salvini;
$164,268.00 for Jeanne Salvini;
$50,544.00 for Edward Salvini

Ed.- Many thanks to Plaintiffs' Attorney James Beck for the above summary.