A lawsuit was filed by the estate of a 48 year-old woman was killed in a skiing crash at Aspen Mountain, Colorado. She had stopped on the side of a run to wait for her boyfriend, when she was struck by another woman skiing downhill, a 53 year-old New York City dermatologist. According to the Aspen Times, the lawsuit alleges that the skier who caused the crash was skiing wildly, out of control and at a high rate of speed, ignored "slow" signs when she collided with the downhill skier.

In every state, including Arizona, the law hold skiers & snowboarders responsible to other skiers/riders for negligent or reckless skiing resulting in a skier/skier collision. Pursuant to the Colorado Skier Safety Act, the person skiing downhill has the primary duty to avoid colliding with any person or object below her. Also, the Colorado Skier Safety Act provides the resort limited immunity from liability and lawsuits. Arizona does not have a specific statute on ski resort safety or liability. However, every resort in Arizona includes a liability waiver in their lift ticket. The only published Arizona ski injury case,  Miller v. Arnal Corp. 129 Ariz. 484 (App. 1981), is a an important case on the overall "duty to rescue" issue.

Jay Ciulla is a Phoenix personal injury and wrongful death lawyer who happens to be an avid skier.