Actress Gwyneth Paltrow looks on before leaving the courtroom in Park City, Utah, on March 21 where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs. Photo: TNS
The man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 ski crash “deteriorated abruptly” after the incident, a doctor testified in a Park City, Utah, court on Wednesday (March 23).
Terry Sanderson, 76, went from being a “high-energy person” to losing significant functioning, according to Dr. Wendell Gibby, a neuroradiologist who reviewed Sanderson’s medical records.
Sanderson’s breakup with his girlfriend, struggles with problem solving and instances of yelling at his grandchildren were cited as evidence of his decline, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
“Terry had been a very high-functioning, high-energy person” said Gibby. After the accident, “the ability to function at a high level was lost.”
Rib injuries to Sanderson showed that Paltrow had been the one to slam into him, the doctor stated.
Sanderson’s suit centres on his allegation that Paltrow ran into him as she went down a hill at Deer Valley Resort and then skied away.
Paltrow denies the claim, saying Sanderson was responsible for the incident but is trying to “exploit her celebrity and wealth.”
Her team suggested that Sanderson’s preexisting conditions, such as vision and hearing loss from a stroke, could have caused some of the changes seen in Sanderson since 2016.
But another witness, neuropsychologist Dr Sam Goldstein, agreed with Gibby.
“Mr Sanderson may have had preexisting conditions. But there was an acute, adverse change in his behavioral and emotional function,” he said.
The trial is expected to continue for at least six more days, with Sanderson seeking damages of US$300,000 (RM1.3mil) from the Hollywood star. Paltrow has countersued him but is only asking for US$1 in damages. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
