Arapahoe Basin, Inc. v. Fischer
| Decision Date | 14 October 1970 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 70--358,23297,s. 70--358 |
| Citation | 475 P.2d 631,28 Colo.App. 580 |
| Parties | ARAPAHOE BASIN, INC., a Colorado corporation, Plaintiff in Error, v. Joy L. FISCHER, Defendant in Error. . II |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Sheldon, Bayer, McLean & Glasman, Richard C. McLean, Denver, for plaintiff in error.
Kripke, Hoffman, Carrigan & Dufty, Donald F. Medsker, Robert A. Dufty, Denver, for defendant in error.
This case was originally filed in the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado and subsequently transferred to the Court of Appeals under authority vested in the Supreme Court.
This is a negligence case arising out of injuries sustained by plaintiff, Joy L. Fischer, while attempting to alight from a chair lift owned and operated by defendant, Arapahoe Basin, Inc. Trial was to a jury which returned a verdict in favor of Miss Fischer. This appeal is brought by Arapahoe Basin, Inc. The issues to be determined involve the sufficiency of the evidence and the instructions given to the jury.
The facts surrounding the injury are uncontroverted for the most part. The lift on which the plaintiff was injured is typical in that, barring a mishap, it is not stopped for skiers attempting to get on or off. The chairs are suspended from an overhead cable by a bail or hanger bar. The lifts at Arapahoe Basin have a rounded stud 1 1/4 inches long by 3/4 inches in diameter which is located on each bail slightly below shoulder level pointing toward the rear. This stud was incorporated into the design of the chair in order that an optional safety bar might be attached. The safety bar was not used by the defendant corporation in transporting skiers. However, the corporation did contemplate using the safety bars in the summer should it ever operate the lift for tourists as a sight-seeing attraction.
While on a ski outing with some friends, Miss Fischer purchased a ticket from the defendant corporation, entitling her to use the ski lift facilities. As Miss Fischer prepared to get off the chair lift which she and her partner were riding, she had her left hand on the bail, her poles in her right hand, and was sitting on the edge of the seat. As she started to ski down the ramp at the end of the lift, she moved her left hand down the bail to push herself away from the chair. It was then that she realized that the sleeve of her jacket was caught on the chair. Unable to free herself, she was suspended by her left arm and carried though mid-air for a few feet. While suspended, part of her body came in contact with a snow fence located beyond the unloading area. As soon as the lift came to a stop, two ski patrolmen immediately came to her assistance. It was determined that the sleeve of her ski jacket had caught on the stud protruding from the hanger and that a bone in her left forearm was fractured.
The defendant claimed that the accident was unavoidable and not the result of its negligence, that Miss Fischer had assumed any risk involved in riding the lift, and that her injuries were caused by her own negligence.
Arapahoe Basin, Inc., has alleged that the evidence does not support the verdict, thereby placing the same issues before us as it presented to the jury. However, it is an established principle that even if the weight of the evidence would seem to be in favor of the defendant to the reviewing court, it is not the judge of the evidence or the credibility of witnesses. That we might resolve the issues of fact in a manner at variance with the findings of the jury...
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...with a substance not authorized for human use unless such added risk were clearly known to the patient. See Arapahoe Basin, Inc. v. Fischer, 28 Colo.App. 580, 475 P.2d 631. Alleged Improprieties of Plaintiff's Downs argues that plaintiff's attorney was guilty of certain improprieties which ......
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