Paralysed skier's €1m court win
Ski station must pay as woman left quadriplegic after slipping on ice on green run
A SKIER who was left quadraplegic after sliding on ice and crashing into rocks has won damages of one million euros against Font-Romeu ski station in the Pyrénées Orientales.
The historic verdict by the appeal court in Montpellier has stunned Font-Romeu mayor Jean-Louis Démelin, who said it could have major consequences for French ski resorts. He told Le Figaro "None of them, today, is able to make pistes safe along their length."
Alyette Beaufils was 23 when she slipped on ice on a green run at Font-Romeu in 1997 and was left paralysed when she hit a rock.
She and her parents started legal action claiming that the piste had not been properly maintained. The court at Montpellier then the appeal court at Marseille had rejected her damages claim and, after she was refused recourse to the Conseil d'Etat she lost a further case in Perpignan before finally winning on appeal at Monpellier.
It is the first such award and France and she will get €800,000 in damages and a €200,000 provision through the Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie for her medical care. The court also asked for an estimate of her continuing financial needs and a lawyer for Font-Romeu estimated that the final cost to its insurers could run to €3m.
The insurance company must now decide whether to lodge an appeal.
