The slopes might seem like the place to be following recent wintry weather, but “skier beware” warns a civil complaint filed this month. Wintergreen Resort (www.wintergreenresort.com) in Nelson County faces a $20 million lawsuit involving a night skier, an abandoned ski-school site and a stretch of rope.
 Hopefully these slope goers will have better luck than Tanya Parsons. The Virginia Beach native alleges Wintergreen Resort’s negligence gave her a permanent disability. She is suing for $20 million. |
According to documents filed in Albemarle County Circuit Court, Tanya Parsons of Virginia Beach was skiing an open trail on the evening of February 26, 2005, when she tripped over a rope strung up earlier that day to block off the trail for ski lessons. John Drescher, attorney for Parsons, says his client suffered a severe shoulder injury with several complications.
“She’s going to have long-term, permanent disability,” Drescher says. “She lost her job as a fire investigator, and her medical treatment is ongoing.”
Drescher says Parsons has postponed legal action during the two years since the accident because of this continuing treatment. “We’ve been waiting for the medical situation to evolve to where everything could be resolved, but her condition just hasn’t stabilized,” he says.
The complaint filed by Parsons demands a trial by jury and includes allegations that Wintergreen’s employees were negligent in failing to properly remove all ropes when trails became open and in failing to adequately illuminate slopes for night skiing.
Sarah Lovejoy, spokesperson for Wintergreen, would not comment on the case.
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