How Colorado Law Defines Resort Responsibility on the Slopes
Colorado has a specific statute that governs ski injuries. It’s called the Ski Safety Act, found at C.R.S. § 33-44-101. Most people hear about it and assume it means resorts can’t be sued. That’s not true.
The Ski Safety Act does say that skiing carries inherent risks. Changing weather. Icy patches. Variations in terrain. You accept those when you buy a lift ticket. But the law draws a clear line between inherent risks and resort negligence. A mogul field is an inherent risk. A poorly marked cliff drop-off next to a groomed run is not. A snowmaking gun left running across an open trail is not. That line matters. Resorts count on you not knowing where it falls.
Resorts operating near Greenwood Village and throughout Colorado owe duties that go beyond just opening the lifts. They have to mark hazards. They must pad lift towers and other fixed objects in high-traffic areas. They need to maintain equipment, train employees, and design runs so merging traffic doesn’t create blind collisions. When a resort fails on any of those duties, the Ski Safety Act doesn’t protect them.
Here’s what insurance companies count on you not knowing. They’ll point to the liability waiver on the back of your lift ticket and tell you the case is closed. But Colorado courts have repeatedly held that waivers don’t cover gross negligence or willful misconduct. A waiver can’t erase a resort’s duty to keep its operations safe.
Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rule under C.R.S. § 13-21-111 also applies on the mountain. If the resort argues you were skiing too fast or beyond your ability, that doesn’t automatically kill your claim. You can still recover as long as your fault stays below 50%. The resort’s legal team will push that number hard, though. They’ll pull your ski history, your rental records, even your social media posts from that day. Jason Jordan, who served as president of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, has handled these tactics for over 20 years. Knowing what’s coming before they send it makes a real difference.
The statute of limitations for a ski accident injury claim in Greenwood Village and across Colorado is two years under C.R.S. § 13-80-102. Miss that window and your case is gone.
For a free legal consultation with a ski accident lawyer serving Greenwood Village, call (303) 465-8733
Why Waivers Don’t Always End a Ski Injury Case
You signed a waiver. You know you did. So you figure there’s nothing you can do. We hear this from people in Greenwood Village almost every week, and it’s the single biggest reason good cases never get filed.
Here’s what the resort doesn’t want you to know. Colorado courts have limits on what a waiver can actually protect. A waiver can shield a resort from claims about inherent risks of skiing. Icy patches. Variable snow. Trees near the run. Those are baked into the sport under the Colorado Ski Safety Act (C.R.S. § 33-44-101 et seq.). But a waiver can’t protect a resort from its own reckless conduct or gross negligence. Those are two very different things.
So what crosses that line? Think about a lift operator who didn’t stop the chair when a child was dangling. Or a resort that knew a terrain park feature was broken and left it open anyway. Or grooming equipment left on an active run after hours when night skiing was advertised. These aren’t inherent risks. These are choices the resort made.
Insurance companies count on you not knowing this. They’ll point to the waiver, tell you the case is closed, and hope you walk away. It happens constantly. The waiver language looks scary. It feels final. But Colorado’s premises liability framework under C.R.S. § 13-21-115 still applies to the conditions a resort controls. And if the resort’s conduct was willful or wanton, that waiver is just a piece of paper.
There’s another angle people miss entirely. Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rule (C.R.S. § 13-21-111) means you can recover damages as long as you’re less than 50% at fault. The resort will argue you were skiing too fast, skiing beyond your ability, ignoring signs. We build the evidence to show what the resort did wrong, not just what you did right.
Don’t let a waiver talk you out of a call. Bring it to us. We’ll read every word and tell you straight whether your case has legs. Learn more about our legal services and find out exactly where you stand.
Evidence You Must Preserve in the First 48 Hours
Here’s what most people don’t realize after a ski accident. The mountain starts covering its tracks almost immediately. Grooming reports get overwritten. Lift maintenance logs rotate out. And that “closed” sign you swear wasn’t there? It might vanish by the next morning.
Clients from Greenwood Village drive up to the resorts on a Saturday, get hurt, and don’t think about evidence until weeks later. By then, the resort’s risk management team has already built their file. You need to build yours faster.
Photos and video from the scene matter more than almost anything else. Take pictures of the exact spot where you were hurt. Get the trail conditions, any signage or lack of it, equipment markings, lift tower numbers, and the terrain around you. If a friend was with you, have them record video while it’s fresh. Ski patrol will write an incident report, but that report tells their version. Your photos tell yours.
Your ski pass and lift ticket contain timestamped RFID data showing which lifts you rode and when. Resorts track this, but they won’t hand it over voluntarily. We send preservation letters demanding they keep that data before it gets purged from their system.
Witness contact information disappears fast on a ski mountain. The person who saw you get hit by an out-of-control skier near a blind merge? They’re driving back to the Front Range that evening. Get their name and phone number before you leave the lodge. Even a first name and Instagram handle is better than nothing.
Medical records from ski patrol and the nearest ER create the first link between the accident and your injuries. Don’t wait a week to see your doctor back home. That gap gives the resort’s insurer room to argue something else caused your pain.
If you’re dealing with any of this right now, give us a call before evidence starts disappearing.
Greenwood Village Ski Accident Lawyer Near Me (303) 465-8733
Injuries, Lost Income, and What Your Claim May Be Worth
A torn ACL on the slopes doesn’t just ruin your ski season. It can keep you out of work for six months. We’ve had Greenwood Village residents come to us after a collision on a run, thinking they had a bad bruise, only to find out they’re facing surgery and months of physical therapy they never planned for.
Ski accidents cause real damage. Not the kind you shake off.
Broken bones are the most common injury we handle. Tibial plateau fractures, broken wrists from bracing a fall, shattered collarbones. These often need hardware, plates, screws. Recovery takes months, not weeks. Traumatic brain injuries show up more than people realize, even with a helmet. A hard impact at speed can cause a concussion or worse. Jason Jordan has said it plainly: insurance adjusters try to compare a mild TBI to “getting your bell rung” when it can actually change someone’s daily life. Spinal cord injuries from high-speed collisions or tree impacts can mean permanent nerve damage. And knee ligament tears, ACL and MCL especially, often require reconstruction and a year of rehab.
Now think about what all of that costs you beyond hospital bills. You miss work. Maybe you can’t do your job at all for a while. If you work with your hands or on your feet, a leg fracture could sideline you for the better part of a year. Lost wages stack up fast, and future earning capacity matters too if you can’t return to the same role.
Under Colorado law, there’s no cap on economic damages. That means your medical bills, lost income, and future care costs have no ceiling. Noneconomic damages like pain and suffering are capped at roughly $1.5 million under HB 24-1472, though that cap can be exceeded with clear and convincing evidence of greater loss. We build cases around documenting everything, the surgeries, the missed paychecks, the things you used to do in the Orchard Hills neighborhood that you simply can’t anymore.
Insurance companies count on you not knowing this. They’ll make an offer before you understand the full cost of your injury. Nine times out of ten, that first offer doesn’t come close to covering what you’re actually facing.
When Another Skier Caused Your Injury
You were doing everything right. Staying in control. Following the flow of traffic on the run. Then someone blew past you from behind, clipped your skis, and sent you into a tree or a lift tower. We handle these cases regularly for clients from Greenwood Village, and the story is almost always the same. The other skier either vanished down the mountain or stuck around but denied doing anything wrong.
Colorado’s Ski Safety Act does place certain duties on every skier. The uphill skier must yield to the downhill skier. That’s not a suggestion. It’s codified in C.R.S. § 33-44-109. When a skier or snowboarder barrels into you from behind or from the side, they’ve likely violated that duty. But here’s the problem. Ski resorts don’t investigate collisions the way police investigate car crashes. There’s no accident report with measurements. No dashcam footage. Ski patrol writes up a brief incident form, maybe takes a statement, and that’s it. Evidence disappears fast.
As a personal injury law firm in Greenwood Village, we know exactly what it takes to build a case. We look for witnesses first. Lift line conversations. People on the same run. Ski instructors who saw what happened. We pull the ski patrol incident report immediately. We get your medical records from the on-mountain clinic and from whatever hospital you ended up at, whether that’s Sky Ridge or Swedish near the DTC Parkway corridor. And if the resort has any camera footage from that section of the mountain, we send a preservation letter before it gets recorded over.
Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rule applies here too. Under C.R.S. § 13-21-111, if the other side argues you were 50% or more at fault, your recovery drops to zero. Insurance companies count on you not knowing this. They’ll claim you made a sudden stop, turned unpredictably, or were skiing beyond your ability. The defense tries to split blame so they pay less or nothing at all. We’ve seen this play out hundreds of times.
The other skier’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance often covers these claims. Most people don’t realize that. If you were hit by another skier and you’re not sure what to do next, give us a call.
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Our Greenwood Village, Colorado Office Location
Our main office is located in Greenwood Village, also known as the Denver Tech Center, just south of Downtown Denver.
Jordan Law Accident and Injury Lawyers
5445 DTC Parkway Suite 1000 Greenwood Village CO 80111
Frequently Asked Questions
Does signing a waiver on my lift ticket mean I can’t file a ski accident claim?
Signing a waiver does not automatically end your case. Colorado courts have ruled that waivers cannot protect resorts from gross negligence or willful misconduct. If a resort left grooming equipment on an active run or kept a broken terrain park feature open, that waiver won’t hold up. Bring your lift ticket and waiver to us. We’ll read every word and tell you straight whether your claim has legs.
How long do I have to file a ski accident injury claim in Greenwood Village?
You have two years to file under Colorado’s statute of limitations, C.R.S. § 13-80-102. That clock starts on the day of your accident. Miss that window and your case is gone — no exceptions. Greenwood Village residents who wait too long often lose valid claims before they ever speak to a lawyer. The sooner you call, the more options you have.
What evidence should I collect right after a ski accident?
Collect photos, witness contact information, and medical records within the first 48 hours. Take pictures of the exact spot where you were hurt, including trail conditions, signage, and lift tower numbers. Get names and phone numbers from anyone who saw what happened. Resorts start building their file immediately. Your ski pass also contains RFID data showing which lifts you rode — we can send a preservation letter to protect that data before it gets purged.
Can I still recover damages if the resort says I was skiing too fast?
Yes, you can still recover as long as you are less than 50% at fault under Colorado’s modified comparative negligence rule, C.R.S. § 13-21-111. Resorts will push hard on your fault percentage. They may pull your rental records, ski history, and even social media posts from that day. We build the evidence to show what the resort did wrong, not just what you did right.
What resort duties does the Colorado Ski Safety Act actually require?
Resorts must mark hazards, pad lift towers, maintain equipment, and design runs to prevent blind collisions. The Ski Safety Act does not protect resorts from failing those duties. A mogul field is an inherent risk. A snowmaking gun left running across an open trail is not. Greenwood Village residents skiing at Colorado resorts should know that lift ticket waivers cannot erase a resort’s duty to keep its operations safe.
What happens when I contact a ski accident lawyer for the first time?
Your first call is a straight conversation about what happened and whether your case has merit. You don’t need to bring anything formal — just tell us the details of your accident, where it happened, and what injuries you have. We’ll ask about the evidence you’ve already collected and explain what steps come next. Greenwood Village clients can expect a direct answer, not a runaround, about whether their case is worth pursuing.
