Yep, you read that title correctly. A man from Edinburgh is taking the Cairngorm Mountain Resort to court because he fell over and broke his hip four years ago, claiming the piste wasn’t groomed properly.
51 year old Christopher Hutton spent two weeks in hospital and now has one leg 3cm shorter than the other as a result of the fall. Whether or not his excuse of bad piste grooming stands up in court is another matter entirely.
What makes the case worse is that even his own friend has said there was flat light and he “may have clipped a fence”.
Having checked out the Cairngorm terms and conditions, it seems Mr Hutton has hit a bit of a rut. The website clearly states “Cairngorm Mountain’s facilities are used at the ticket holder’s own risk. Cairngorm Mountain accepts no responsibility for injury, loss or damage unless as a direct result of its negligence”.
We understand we’re not riding the corduroy groomers of Verbier but the piste isn’t exactly a shit tip now is it?
From what it seems, the piste certainly wasn’t neglected. We understand we’re not riding the corduroy groomers of Verbier but the piste isn’t exactly a shit tip now is it? According to officials, there were no other complaints that day either.
Now we’ve all seen the adverts with that squeaky-voiced cartoon dog with his leg in a cast going on about an accident that wasn’t our fault but surely this guy is taking the biscuit? And if he wins, what then? Will it open a can of worms and pave the way for everyone who has had an accident on the slopes to stick in a claim?
Next time someone bails off one of Cairngorm’s many boxes and rails, will they claim for negligence too? Not only do we hope not but we also highly doubt it. We just hope that for the good of the resort and winter sports (yes, that includes skiing as well) the court tells this guy exactly where to go.
Let us know your thoughts below. It’d be interesting to see where everyone stands on injuries on the mountain.