Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial – LIVE: Actor tells court he first thought skiing accident was ‘sexual assault’

Gwyneth Paltrow’s lawyer has apologized for being an “ass” to the doctor’s daughter who is suing the actress over a 2016 skiing accident.

Attorney Stephen Owens agreed after cross-examining Polly Sanderson Grasham, who testified for her father, Terry Sanderson.

She claims Paltrow assaulted her with a “full-body assault,” leaving her with “permanent traumatic brain injury, four broken ribs, pain, suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish and disfigurement.”

Sanderson is seeking $300,000 in damages from the Oscar winner, claiming he suffered permanent brain damage following the accident at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah.

Mr Owens and Ms Sanderson engaged in tense questioning after Grasham testified that her father was angry and upset after the accident.

Gwyneth Paltrow colliding with a man from behind on a ski slope and falling on top of him is the “only scenario” to explain her injuries, a US court has heard.

Jurors said Terri Sanderson gave the Oscar-winning actress “a cushion” during the 2016 incident at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah.

The retired optometrist is suing Ms Paltrow over the accident, which left her with multiple broken ribs and a severe concussion.

Ms. Paltrow denied the claim and countersued Sanderson, alleging that she was responsible for the confrontation.

On Thursday jurors heard evidence from Dr Richard Bohan, who said Mr Sanderson’s injuries could only have been caused by being struck from behind.

“He was hit from the side and behind and remember that person landed on him. People who fall don’t get rib fractures… it takes something else,” he said.

“If you have a choice between Mr. Sanderson hitting Ms. Paltrow or Ms. Paltrow hitting Mr. Sanderson, you have to choose that Ms. Paltrow hits Mr. Sanderson from behind and falls on top of him to account for the rib fractures.”

“If you compare the two scenarios … there is only one scenario where enough force is used to break those ribs, which is Ms. Paltrow hitting Mr. Sanderson from behind and falling to the ground.

“In essence he was like a cushion, if you will.”

Actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s day on the slopes in Park City, Utah was cut short seven years ago when she collided with another person coming down the hill and had to take a break.

He is now participating in a civil trial that began on Tuesday (March 21).

On February 26, 2016, she was climbing the mountain when another skier crashed into her from behind. She suffered minor injuries, for which the man immediately apologized. He is “shocked and upset,” he adds in his legal filing.

The Hollywood star is being sued for $300,000 by a retired doctor following a 2016 accident in Deer Valley, Utah.

Ms. Paltrow claims in her filing that Mr. Sanderson’s injuries were exaggerated because his doctor conducted an examination that revealed no impairment in his cognitive function, according to the claim.

In the film actor’s filing, medical records say he was diagnosed with a “mild” concussion and spent “extended periods” vacationing abroad following the accident.

A general view during the double moguls preliminary rounds on day three of the Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Ski World Cup at Deer Valley Resort on February 04, 2023 in Park City, Utah.

The counterclaim claims Mr Sanderson has 15 chronic medical problems and told his doctor a year ago he was blind in his right eye and had worsening vision in his left eye.

“She did not knock him over or cause him to suffer a concussion, brain injury or broken ribs,” Ms Paltrow’s filing states.

Mr Sanderson accused Ms Paltrow of being “out of control” on the opening slope of the Bandana Run at Flagstaff Hill. According to Court TV.

He says he was knocked out because she hit him so hard. At a press conference in 2019, he said moments before the collision, “I heard a manic scream like it was King Kong in the jungle or something.”

Terry Sanderson during a press conference in 2019

He said at the time that he thought the speed with which Ms Paltrow was allegedly coming at him might explain the extent of her injuries. “A small pitty bullet can make a big hole,” he said Salt Lake Tribune.

At the press conference announcing the case, Mr Sanderson said he noticed several large “slow down” signs on the way down the Bandana Run, so he slowed down but kept up with the flow of other skiers coming down the slope.

In 2019, “it happened almost immediately,” he said. “I got hit on my back. … It felt like it drove me forward.

He said he remembers being unable to control himself when he went down.

“And then I remember at that point — out,” he said.

“I wouldn’t say we’re good friends, we’re friendly,” Paltrow testified.

The jury will return to the courtroom in Park City, Utah on Monday morning at 9 MT.