Ski, Snowboard, and Recreational Accident Lawyers in Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs residents ski, ride, climb, hike, and boat all over the state, and recreation injuries follow. Colorado law gives ski areas strong protection through the Ski Safety Act, and many recreation businesses require a liability waiver. Neither means there is never a claim, but both shape which claims survive.

The Ski Safety Act

Under Colorado’s Ski Safety Act, a skier accepts the inherent dangers and risks of skiing, and can’t recover from the ski area for injuries caused by them. The Act defines those risks broadly: changing weather and snow conditions, terrain variations, trees and rocks, collisions with lift towers and other fixed objects, and more. Snowboarders are treated as skiers.

The Act also puts duties on ski areas: signage, marking of trails and hazards, and operation of lifts. An injury caused by an operator’s violation of those duties isn’t an inherent risk. Lift injuries, unmarked hazards, and grooming and snowmaking equipment are where operator claims usually arise. Claims against a ski area operator must be filed within two years.

Collisions with other skiers

The Act doesn’t protect other skiers. A skier who crashes into you can be responsible for your injuries under ordinary negligence law, and the uphill skier generally has the duty to avoid those below. Identifying the other skier, getting their information, and reporting the collision to ski patrol before leaving are essential, because many collision claims fail simply because the other skier left.

Waivers

Ski passes, rental agreements, and many recreation businesses include a release of liability. Colorado courts often enforce these waivers for ordinary negligence, but not for everything, and whether a particular waiver covers a particular injury depends on its wording and the facts. Don’t assume a waiver ends the claim before someone has read it.

Boating and water recreation

Boating accidents on Colorado’s reservoirs and lakes are governed by ordinary negligence law and state boating rules. Operator inattention, excessive speed, alcohol, and inexperience cause most of them. The operator’s insurance, and sometimes the owner’s or the rental company’s, is the usual source of recovery.

Other recreation

Trampoline parks, climbing gyms, zip lines, guided trips, and rented equipment can all produce claims when an operator ignores safety practices or equipment fails. Defective helmets, bindings, and other gear can raise product liability claims.

How we handle recreation claims

We get the ski patrol or incident report, identify witnesses and other participants, review any waiver you signed, and preserve equipment involved. We identify quickly whether the Ski Safety Act or a waiver applies, so the claim is built on what the law allows.