Ski Accident Compensation Claims Guide

By Lewis Hendrix. Last Updated 21st March 2023. In this guide, we advise on the process of making a personal injury claim for ski accident compensation. If you have been injured in a skiing accident because of another party’s negligence, then you may be entitled to start a claim for compensation.

Here, we’ll provide guidance on how a ski fall could happen and the criteria for when a skiing fall or a similar type of accident could lead to a claim. We’ll also discuss potential compensation payouts and the benefits of claiming with the help of a No Win No Fee solicitor.

You are welcome to contact our team of advisors either on the phone or online if you would like to speak to them for help and guidance. Our advisors can offer free legal advice on ski accident claims and claims for other sport-related accidents. If they establish you have a strong case, then they could potentially connect you with one of our solicitors. You can call our team on 0800 073 8801, or you can use either our call back form or our 24/7 live chat service.

Select A Section

1. What Is A Ski Accident?
2. Common Causes Of Skiing Injuries And Accidents
3. Head Injuries And Concussions From Skiing
4. Hand And Thumb Ski Injuries
5. Dislocated Shoulders Caused By A Ski Injury
6. Off-Piste Ski Injury Claims
7. List Of Compensation Payouts UK
8. Examples Of Special Damages For Winter Sports Accident Claims
9. Skiing Injury Claims – No Win No Fee Claims
10. Essential References Relating To Ski Accident Compensation

What Is A Ski Accident?

A ski accident is anything that occurs on a ski slope that causes you to suffer injuries. And any of these could lead to you making ski accident claims. There are many ways in which injuries sustained on the slopes could occur, including:

• Skier error
• Collisions with people
• Collisions with objects
• Ski lift accidents
• Equipment malfunction or faulty equipment

Because of the speeds you could reach by skiing, some collisions or falls on the ski slope could be quite significant, but there are lots of minor and moderate injuries that could be caused by a fall or a jump, too, such as broken bones, ligament tears and more.

Common Causes Of Skiing Injuries And Accidents

Skier error could be considered one common cause of skiing accidents, but there are others, including:

• Failure of equipment, such as batons and bindings
• Colliding with other skiers or slope users
• Colliding with a stationary object, such as a tree
• Chairlift falls
• Other ski lift accidents involving the mechanism

One cause of a ski accident that could potentially lead to a claim would be if you were not given enough tuition before you were allowed on the slopes. If this happens, then there may be the potential to make a claim for compensation if you are injured while skiing.

For more information about ski accident claims and the kinds of injuries that may lead to them, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Who could I claim against?

Depending on who could be held liable, non-fault ski accident claims could be made against:

• Tour operators
• Piste ‘authorities’
• Other skiers
• Ski centres
• Lift operators
• Ski instructors
• Ski guides

If you are at all confused about who could be held liable for a ski accident claim, then our team could help. Simply call us with the details of your skiing accident, and we’ll work this out for you.

What Evidence Can Support A Skiing Accident Claim?

As previously mentioned, it’s important to gather evidence if you seek to make a claim for personal injury compensation after a fall while skiing. You’ll need to prove any injuries you have sustained and that the negligence of someone else caused your accident.

Examples of evidence that could support your ski crash claim, include:

• Photographs – take plenty of photographs of any visible injuries you have sustained. If possible, it’s also worth taking photographs of the accident scene and any hazards that could have caused the accident.
• Witness statements – any witnesses to your accident could make a statement about what happened and offer credible evidence as to who was liable for the crash.
• Medical evidence – you can request your medical records, which can confirm any treatment or medicines you have been offered regarding your injuries.
• Medical report – one of our specialist accident claims solicitors could arrange for you to meet with an independent medical expert. They’ll assess you and diagnose any potential harm, including psychological injuries you may be enduring. Their report can then be used as evidence to prove the extent of your personal injuries.

If you have been injured in a ski fall, you might be interested in hiring one of our expert solicitors to help you collect evidence. You can get in touch for free at any time to find out more about the services we offer, including work with No Win No Fee solicitors.

Head Injuries And Concussions From Skiing

A head injury while skiing could be dangerous, and if you experience such an injury, it would be wise for you to seek immediate medical attention, even if it is not a brain injury that has been caused by your accident but a simple concussion. Whether you’ve had a traumatic head injury or a relatively minor knock, you may need to be monitored to ensure that your condition does not deteriorate.

Whatever type of head injury or brain injury you’ve suffered, if it was the result of a skiing accident or snowboarding accident that was not your fault, then you may wish to claim compensation from a liable party. Just call Accident Claims UK, and we’ll guide you as to the next steps you could take for your ski accident claims.

Hand And Thumb Ski Injuries

There is a condition called skiers thumb, which could be considered quite a common thumb injury that is seen in skiers. This could be due to the fact that you may have held on to your ski batons lightly while you were skiing, but then, if you suffered a fall, you might stretch the thumb out to try and lessen any impact. If you have fallen on such an outstretched thumb, your ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb may be negatively impacted. This could cause loss of strength and function, which could impair your grip or your ability to pinch. If you have experienced this injury as a result of a ski accident that was not your fault, you could potentially claim compensation for the suffering and pain of this injury, as well as any costs you’ve had to face because of it.

There are, of course, many other types of hand injury that you could experience from a fall on a mountain or at a ski resort. Whether you have broken a wrist in a ski lift accident or suffered finger injuries in a fall, and someone else could be held liable, the same principles apply. If you could prove a liable party was at fault, you could make a claim for ski injury compensation.

Dislocated Shoulders Caused By A Ski Injury

One injury that you could suffer from being in a ski accident might be a dislocated shoulder. It is thought that around 4-11% of ski injuries are injuries to the shoulder, and these could include acromioclavicular dislocations, as well as:

• Impingement of the rotator cuff (a soft tissue injury)
• Tear to the rotator cuff
• A fracture of the collarbone
• Fractures including scapula, glenoid or greater tuberosity
• Other joint dislocations
• Other soft tissue injuries

If you have had a winter sports accident that has led to any of these injuries, or any other shoulder injury, you may be able to claim ski accident compensation if someone else could be held liable for your ski accident.

Off-Piste Ski Injury Claims

If you are a confident enough skier, you may have chosen to ski off-piste, but if you are in a ski accident when skiing off-piste, would you be able to make a skiing accident claim? There are certainly more risks to skiing or snowboarding off-piste because:

• There aren’t warning signs off-piste that indicate avalanche dangers
• You wouldn’t be protected from the known risks of snow-covered areas off-piste
• There is more risk of snow slides

The one obvious way to avoid such risks is not to ski off-piste and stay where ski runs are well marked. When it comes to making a claim for being injured while skiing, it could be much more difficult to prove third-party liability, which means you may not be eligible to claim compensation. However, if it was a guide or ski instructor who took you skiing off-piste and you suffered a ski accident, an assessment could be made on whether the ski instructor or guide was negligent in taking you off-piste, and if they were, then you may be able to claim for ski injury compensation.

If you’re wondering how much ski accident claims can be worth, continue reading to the next section.

List Of Compensation Payouts UK

If someone successfully claims personal injury compensation for a ski accident, their payout could include general damage and special damages. General damages compensates for the pain and suffering of the injury.

To provide some guidance on potential compensation payouts, you can view the compensation brackets in the table below. They are based on the latest Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG is a publication that offers guidance on compensation payouts for a range of injuries. The figures are based on past cases in England and Wales.

Legal professionals calculating compensation for an injury at a ski resort could use these to get an idea of how much certain injuries could be worth. We should point out that these figures are useful for claims in England and Wales only, however. They are also only rough guides. Therefore, if you’d like more detailed guidance, please call our team.

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Injury and Severity	Bracket Compensation Amount	Special Notes
Thumb Injuries (Serious)	£12,590 to £16,760	Where the tip has been amputated, or there is nerve damage, or fractures. Wires may need to be inserted rendering the thumb ultra-sensitive and cold. Grip could be impaired and there could be a loss of dexterity.
Thumb Injuries (Moderate)	£9,670 to £12,590	Where arthrodesis is required of the interphalangeal joint or there is damage caused to nerves or tendons. Impaired sensation and cosmetic deformity may exist along with impairment of function.
Leg injuries (Moderate)	£27,760 to £39,200	Multiple or complex fractures or crushing injuries that are deemed to be severe. Usually for a single limb. Awards within this bracket should be influenced by how extensive treatment needs to be, as well as whether there are likely to be degenerative changes prompting further surgery in the future.
Knee injuries (Severe)	£69,730 to £96,210	If the joint has been disrupted, or there has been gross ligament damage. Considerable pain and function loss, as well as a requirement for arthrodesis or arthroplasty.
Knee injuries (Severe)	£52,120 to £69,730	Where a fracture of the leg extends into the joint of the knee, leading to permanent constant pain, agility impairment and the risk of having to undergo an arthroplasty
Knee injuries (Severe)	£26,190 to £43,460	Less severe than above but still including the risk of remedial surgery for meniscus or ligamental tears, as well as muscular wasting
Knee injuries (Moderate)	£14,840 to £26,190	Cartilage tears, meniscus tears and dislocations that may lead to mild future disability and mild instability.
Shoulder Injuries (Serious)	£12,770 to £19,200	Dislocations of the shoulder which damage the brachial plexus which causes pain in the neck and in the shoulder. Rotator cuff injuries that leave symptoms after surgery could fall into this bracket. Sensory symptoms in victim’s forearm may be caused as well as grip weakness.
Brain injury (Moderate)	£43,060 to £90,720	Where the claimant’s memory and concentration are affected and their ability to work could be impaired. Cases with slight risks of epilepsy and limited dependence on others could fall into this category.

Examples Of Special Damages For Winter Sports Accident Claims

Of course, not only could you suffer pain as part of your injury, but you could also be made financially worse off because of it. Special damages awards could compensate you for costs and losses that you have encountered that directly relate to your accident and injury. These could include:

• Lost income
• Medical expenses
• Travel expenses
• Care costs

If you have any further costs that you’ve incurred that directly relate to your injuries and your accident, then simply speak to us here at Accident Claims UK to find out whether you could include them within your ski accident compensation claim.

Skiing Injury Claims – No Win No Fee Claims

If you intend to make a skiing accident injury compensation claim, you might be looking for professional legal support. A personal injury solicitor could assist you in making a skiing injury claim if you are eligible to do so. They could take on the legal legwork of proving your claim and negotiating a settlement for your skiing injury. 

Additionally, they could keep you updated throughout the skiing injury claims process.

How Do I Pay For Help With Skiing Injury Claims – What Are No Win No Fee Claims?

You could opt to work with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel. They can offer you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Under a CFA, if the claim succeeds you will pay a success fee from your compensation. This is subject to a legal cap.

What Happens If My No Win No Fee Skiing Injury Claim Doesn’t Bring Me Compensation?

Under the terms of a CFA, you would typically not pay your solicitor for their services upfront, while the claim is ongoing or if your claim fails.

If you would like to speak to us about making a skiing accident injury compensation claim under a No Win No Fee agreement, please call us.

For free legal advice on ski accident compensation claims and No Win No Fee solicitors, you can contact us by:

• Calling us on 0800 073 8801
• Filling in our call back form on our website
• Reaching us through our 24/7 live chat service
• Emailing us at office@accidentclaims.co.uk

Essential References Relating To Ski Accident Compensation

Holiday Accidents -If you have suffered an accident while on holiday, then this guide to holiday accident claims could be of use.

Head Injury Claims – We touched on head injuries earlier on in this guide. There is more information included here in this guide to head injury claims.

Knee Injury Claims – Whether you have dislocated your knee, or suffered tears to the ligaments, if someone else could be held liable then you might be able to claim compensation.

Other Useful Compensation Guides

• Greece Accident Claims Guide
• Turkey Accident Claims Guide
• A Guide To British Airways Flight Accident Claims 
• Jet2 Flight Accident Claims Guide
• Spain Swimming Pool Accident Claims Guide 
• How To Make An Airline Injury Compensation Claim?
• Do You Need To Use A Solicitor In Spain For A Personal Injury Claim?
• Italy Accident Claims Guide
• The Netherlands Accident Claims Guide
• France Accident Claims Guide  
• Psychological Injuries
• Portugal Accident Claims Guide
• France Car Accident Claims Guide
• A Guide To Portugal Car Accident Claims

Ski Safety Resources

Safety On The Piste – This page could give you some useful information on skiing safely.

Package Travel Regulations – Was your ski holiday booked through a UK tour operator as a package? This page might offer some useful information.

Skiing information from the UK Government – Safety tips from the government regarding ski or winter sports holidays.

NHS – healthcare abroad- A NHS guide to seeking healthcare if you’re injured overseas.

Thank you for reading our guide on ski accident compensation and ski accident claims.