 Poster: A snowHead
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Following my initial fall with a rotated leg, the instructor from an established ski school in Austria forced me to put the skis on and stand up. When I was let go I immediately fell again. I heard a loud pop.
Diagnosis: not only ACL, but also MCL. I was fit and active before the accident, and this has materially deteriorated my quality of life. Now I need help with everyday activities.
I believe instructor's negligence has caused material harm to my health. There were witnesses when it happened.
I would like to consider a legal action.
Do I need a police report for this? Can anyone recommend lawyers that would be able to see such case through with a minimal toll on me?
Many thanks.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just watch the Jeremy Kyle show and its indespersed with advertisements for personal injury lawyers.
If they won't take It on no win, no fee, they probably haven't got a great deal of confidence in the case.
I think its going to hard to prove you were forced
Its going to behave to prove injury a led to injury b
There's probably five pages of disclaimers you Signed when you booked the lesson
You re probably best claiming off your own holiday insurance and let them try a recoup the money, if they feel they have a chance.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Can you prove your fall did not cause the damage?
How did the instructor force you?
What were your din settings, who set them?
Does your insurance have legal cover?
Bad luck on the injury.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Life can be tough sometimes.
Rule 5.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Nobody's fault. Move on, stop blaming people. Sorry about the injury, but that's life. It won't last for ever.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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When you learn to ski you fall. Often with your legs twisted. At first instructors need to show you how to untwist your skis, get your skis down the hill and under you, and how to get up. Wimpy people may need more help and encouragement. If you feel pain then you should say and take a breather.
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@Themasterpiece, 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| under a new name wrote: |
| @Themasterpiece, |
Just stating my experience and I didn't learn that long ago. I guess the crux here is what the OP means by "forced me". If they mean untwisted me, pulled me to my feet, said put your skis back on, then it's what I'd expect.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@Hells Bells, + 1.
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@blusky, MTFU
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@blusky, you took part in an activity that has a risk of injury, stop looking for a handout and get on with life.
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Poster: A snowHead
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This has got to be a wind up. "Forced me to put skis on and stand up". Pistol to head job? Maybe tiddlywinks would be a better pastime until you twist your wrist and your instructor forces you to keep playing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| under a new name wrote: |
Life can be tough sometimes.
Rule 5. |
This.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@blusky, on a more serious note.
You would have to pursue this in Austrian court.
There is no law in Austria allowing no-win, no-fee claims.
So you would need to pay all legal costs upfront to find out whether it is worth pursuing.
I doubt the police would be interested as no crime has been committed (witnesses or no witnesses).
Ski instructors and ski schools are insured for liability (in fact most Austrian and German citizens have some kind of personal liability insurance).
It seems that you were coherent enough to make the decision to carry on skiing and you chose to do so.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I've hurt myself and it must be someone's fault.
I'll go on a forum i've never used before or never contributed to in order to get advice on how to sue somebody to get money for my unfortunate accident.
Rule 5 and don't trip over the pavement on the way home from work.
p.s. As others have asked, how did he force you? Can you prove that damage was done by trying to stand up rather than the original fall?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| flangesax wrote: |
| You would have to pursue this in Austrian court. |
Spotted this article recently in the Law Society Gazette which may be relevant.
I once had a serious injury caused by a ski instructor. She broke my heart.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I have had my wallet pillaged by an instructor previously.
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FIFM...
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You will soon most definitely have to pursue this in an Austrian court.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I sat next to @rob@rar, at a offline sH meet in Covent Garden and had a hangover the next day. I have just instructed Grabbitandsuem.com. 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@jellylegs, +1
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@chocksaway, similar tale - we could start a class action
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You know it makes sense.
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@blusky, welcome to sHs
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| cameronphillips2000 wrote: |
If they won't take It on no win, no fee, they probably haven't got a great deal of confidence in the case.
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Just a side note - this isn't necessarily true.
Most 'no win no fee' companies employ one legal professional, and lots of secretaries.
A secretary writes a letter, saying they best have insurance because they're being sued. Would they like to settle out of court to keep it cheap?
The big companies say yes, let's do that, it'll be cheaper than a day in court. Any company who says no, let's have it out in court... the no win no fee company will give up because they can't afford a day in court either, because they only employ one solicitor.
No win no fee companies rely on people accepting an out of court settlement because these can be processed by a secretary with no legal qualifications.
Therefore, a no win no fee company taking on a case isn't a sign they think it'll succeed, it's a sign they think it'll be easy.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Not to fuel the fire, but I do have sympathy with the OP. I am guessing that this was very, very early in the OPs ski experience and they perhaps haven't had the chance to really enjoy loads of skiing yet so the pain/reward feels totally unbalanced.
To answer to the question: no, you shouldn't take the instructor to court, and probably couldn't anyway. Unfortunately falling on skis is part of the package and sometimes those falls can have pretty nasty outcomes.
However, I can see that busting your knee on the first week(?) out is a pretty crappy deal and if you are still in the early stages of learning that will probably put you off skiing pretty quickly. ACL / MCL stuff is common and can be recovered from, though I bet it is pretty painful right now  . You'll need to work at it and have physio etc..., but in the injury recovery section on this forum there are loads of people who've done similar, got back to fitness and started skiing again...
Good luck - there is lots of support / experience out there for the recovery part.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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As for @blusky, the question is, what do you think the instructor should have done better? How else could he have dealt with this?
Were you mis-sold a belief that all instructors had MRI scanners built into their eyes so that they could spot ligament damage on the spot?
Do you think that ski instructors should send all pupils to hospital every time they fall over... 'just in case'?
Claim the injury on your insurance and move along. You ultimately made a conscious decision to clamp a long metal plank on the end of your leg and to slide down a mountain on a pair of them. You need to take responsibility for that decision. You can't blame your instructor for not putting every single person who falls off their skis onto a blood wagon and off to hospital. It's just a fact, people get hurt skiing. I got hurt this year and I'm devastated at losing as much ski time as I'm losing. But it's just one of those things isn't it? I chose to put skis on and go skiing. I accepted the risks it entailed, and committed to it.
You can't try to blame an instructor because you hurt yourself. If the instructor referred everyone who fell off to the hospital, there'd be nobody in lessons and everyone would be in a hospital waiting room. That would suck, and nobody would take lessons. What do you expect the instructor to do?
When you've got over having a tantrum and a "it must be somebody else's fault" episode over this, you could check out http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewforum.php?f=48 which is the section of this forum dedicated to skiing injuries and rehabilitation thereof. Maybe that will help you. You're not the first skier to do your ACL/MCL, you're also not the first person to do it in the first week. Realistically, it's the time you're most prone to injury, before your ski muscles have developed. If you ski 4 weeks a year, by the fourth week you can take twice as much punishment as you could in the first. It's just how it goes. Man up, do your physio properly, and come back fighting next season.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Funny how@blusky, hasn't responded
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@chocksaway, @holidayloverxx, 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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My wife has read this. Last March she was on a ski lift with me and tweaked her knee ligament. She blamed me. Of course she blamed me.
I fear she is now looking to sue me for materially harming her health in lots of ways.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Hurtle,
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This has to be a wind up, is there anyone out there that feels every time they fall they deserve to make someone pay?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The only "comeback" for you is the physical one (well, maybe a little confidence recovery as well - but this ever swifter than imagined). Meantime, shortage of ski instructors as we desperately migrate to other careers rather than face your formidably expensive legal team ...
Look to thyself, good luck with the comeback.
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FAQ
? is he/she a 