Operator not to blame for tragic ski accident

Specialist tour operator Snowbizz has been exonerated of any blame for a tragic ski accident which has left a man wheelchair bound.

But the Ski School instructor, Jerome Portejoie, was found to be two thirds responsible for the accident in the French resort of Puy St Vincent.

The Claimant, Graham Anderson, crashed into a tree while skiing downhill off piste with the instructor while on a Snowbizz holiday in 2004. As a result, he is now a wheelchair-bound tetraplegic.

Until now, Wendy and Michel Lyotier, joint owners of Peterborough-based Snowbizz, have not been able to speak about the case.

“The most important thing to say is that we are desperately sorry that a customer of ours suffered such appalling injuries while on a skiing holiday in Puy St Vincent,” said Wendy.

“While we all know and accept that skiing – as with many sports – can be dangerous, in all 22 years of operating there we have never before been involved in a similar incident.”

In his judgment, Mr Justice Foskett emphasised that there was no suggestion that Snowbizz was in any way at fault in the events that occurred.

He said the company was simply the link between the claimant and the ski instructor as far as the English legal system was concerned.

The Judge felt that the instructor “took his eye off the ball on this particular occasion”.

But he tempered this comment by adding: “It may be of some comfort to Mr Portejoie to know that there are very many distinguished and ordinarily highly competent and conscientious doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, surveyors and the like who, on an isolated occasion in their lives, are found to have been negligent within the meaning of the law. He should look on this as one of those isolated occasions.”

The Lyotiers expressed their continued support of the instructor and the Ski School.

“We have worked with the Ski School in Puy St Vincent for many years, and have a high regard for their instructors’ knowledge of the area and their skills and care in helping our clients to ski safely and well,” said Wendy.

“Mr Justice Foskett himself accepted that Mr Portejoie was a very experienced ski instructor, concerned for the safety and well-being of his students.”

The financial side of the claim, which is likely to remain confidential, has yet to be settled, and this is likely to take several months.

In closing, the Judge urged skiers to take out adequate insurance cover that would provide substantial funds if permanent serious injury, including paralysis, should occur.

By Bev Fearis