Suit Against 8 Year Old Causes Outrage
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The nation appears to be angered by the suit brought against an 8 year old boy who skied into an adult skier in Colorado
According to a lawyer in Pennsylvania , the personal injury lawsuit a couple from South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania filed against an 8-year-old boy who crashed into the husband while skiing in Colorado may be unpopular, but it is justifiable.
According to Jim Chalat, the attorney of David Pfahler, the man injured, and his wife, Marlene Ambrogio, the Ski Safety Act of Colorado states that children are just as responsible as adults for their actions on the slopes.
Pfahler underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, according to the lawsuit and has incurred about $75,000 in medical bills, lost vacation time and other expenses,
Saul Langsam, a Pennsylvania attorney, said that the couple could still have a case even if it occurred in their home state.
The couple's decision to file suit against Scott Swimm, 8, of Eagle, Colorado, and his father, Robb, has been met with nationwide outrage. Chalat says the couple has been harassed by angry phone calls since the story was released.
According to the suit, filed in September 2007 in U.S. District Court in Colorado, Pfahler was skiing "at a slow pace" on a trail at Beaver Creek Ski Resort on January 12 when the boy came down the mountain "negligently," "recklessly," "and at a high rate of speed." The boy collided with Pfahler, resulting in injuries to the man's shoulder and collarbone.
The Swimms have denied the allegations, with Robb saying his son "tapped" Pfahler's boots.
According to the suit, Pfahler underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and has incurred approximately $75,000 in medical bills, lost vaction time, and other expenses.
A very similar suit was not allowed to go to trial in North Carolina. In that case, as in the Colorado case discussed above, the alleged negligence occurred on the ski slopes after a 12 year old child skied into an adult. The North Carolina court applied the state law of West Virginia where the injury occurred. In West Virginia, there is a rebuttable presumption that children between the ages of seven and fourteen are incapable of negligence.The North Carolina Court of Appeals held that:
"Thus, plaintiff did not present a sufficient forecast of
evidence to overcome the rebuttable presumption that Nathaniel was
incapable of negligence."