Retired optometrist Terry Sanderson took the stand in Utah on Monday to testify against famous actress Gwyneth Paltrow, alleging his life is forever altered following a collision on a ski hill.
The 76-year-old doctor said he sustained brain damage and was left permanently disabled following the collision in 2016 and told the jury Paltrow was allegedly skiing “out of control” before she slammed into him, according to the New York Post.
Sanderson said “everything was going great” during his visit to Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, on February 26, 2016. “Then I heard something I’ve never heard at a ski resort. And that was a blood-curdling scream,” he said, according to the NY Post. Paltrow denied the allegations and claimed it was Sanderson that ran into her.
Attorneys for @GwynethPaltrow played reconstructive animation of the ski crash she’s being sued for in court Monday. The animation was used to help the jury understand what allegedly happened, using the video and testimony from Paltrow’s ski instructor Eric Christiansen. pic.twitter.com/04kCh97qLe
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) March 27, 2023
Sanderson claimed Paltrow was negligent on the slopes and ran off after allegedly slamming into him. He’s currently seeking $300,000 in damages, which was adjusted from his initial $3.1 million claim, according to the New York Post.
Paltrow has been in attendance at each hearing and told the court her side of the story on Friday.
“I was hit by Mr. Sanderson and he was at fault,” she said, according to The New York Post.
Paltrow is seeking $1 in damages along with the cost of her legal fees. The famous actress’ legal team said Sanderson’s health issues can be traced back to cancer and other pre-existing conditions prior to the crash, including blindness in one of his eyes, the outlet noted.
Sanderson’s family testified about his mental decline since the crash, which Paltrow’s legal team also attributed to his prior health conditions before their ski collision, according to the New York Post.
Sanderson claimed to have been knocked out after the crash, and said he awoke to the sound of a man yelling at him, saying “you hurt somebody,” the outlet noted.
The man was apparently “just insistent that I was the bad guy,” Sanderson said, the outlet reported. (RELATED: New Hampshire Skiing Accident Leaves Boston Teenager Dead)
Gwyneth Paltrow appears in US court over claims she injured a man by skiing “out of control” in Utah in 2016 https://t.co/vMw5Of9Cfa
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 21, 2023
He said he apologized on-scene in order to “placate this man in the only defensive manner I could,” but was adamant that was not an admission of guilt, according to the New York Post.
Paltrow testified that she yelled at him for crashing into her, but Sanderson said he had no memory of that taking place, the outlet noted.