Entertainment

Gwyneth Paltrow accuser apologises for 'King Kong' ski trial jab

March 30, 2023 12:31 pm

[Source: BBC]

Many celebrities descend on Park City once a year for the Sundance Film Festival – but the past week in the city has been about one star and one courtroom drama in particular.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s legal team has now rested in a civil trial over a 2016 ski collision with a retired eye doctor at the upscale Deer Valley Resort in Utah.

Terry Sanderson, 76, is seeking $300,000 (£244,000) in damages over physical and emotional wounds he attributes to the crash, an incident he says Ms Paltrow caused. He says it left him with brain damage and broken ribs.

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The Hollywood actress has denied being responsible and has counter-sued.

Ms Paltrow is seeking $1, plus compensation for attorneys’ fees. She has been present at each day’s proceedings.

On Wednesday, the Oscar winner wore black from head-to-toe as she alighted from a dark SUV and breezed into the Third District Court.

Mr Sanderson was already inside the courtroom and the two did their utmost to avoid eye contact as she walked by.

More than seven years have passed since the accident on a beginner’s slope known as the Bandana Run – a collision the former US army captain and optometrist claims says left him with a concussion that “completely changed” his life.

On Wednesday, medical experts called to the stand by Ms Paltrow’s defence team disputed that characterisation.

“Mr Sanderson does not currently need ongoing neurological treatment,” said Dr Robert Hoesch, a neurologist, adding: “I would evaluate [him] for dementia.”

Neuro-psychologist Dr Angela Eastvold argued the plaintiff had suffered “at most, a mild concussion” and that he showed no evidence of a brain injury.

“Anxiety can drive perception of a lot of these difficulties,” she said.

Dr Eastvold suggested that, while evidence indicates “he is genuinely in distress”, a concussion from the collision with Ms Paltrow could not be the cause of his struggles.