A retired Utah optometrist is suing actress Gwyneth Paltrow for a skiing collision that he says left him with a “permanent traumatic brain injury,” broken ribs and emotional distress.
Terry Sanderson calls the February 2016 crash a “hit-and-run” in the lawsuit filed Tuesday, which seeks $3.1 million in damages. It alleges Paltrow “was skiing out of control” and slammed into Sanderson from behind at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, according to People.
“This lawsuit is completely without merit,” a spokeswoman for Paltrow told HuffPost in a statement Wednesday. “Anyone who reads the facts will realize that.”
Sanderson, 72, told reporters at a news conference Tuesday that he “heard this just hysterical screaming like … King Kong in the jungle or something” seconds before the crash, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
After the collision, “Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow,” the lawsuit says.
An attorney for Sanderson likened his “closed brain injury” to shaken-baby syndrome.
Sanderson said he was skiing slowly, but Paltrow approached him at “full speed.”
He said the extent of his injuries was due to “velocity.” “A little bitty bullet can make a big hole,” he said, per the Salt Lake Tribune.
This article has been updated to include a statement from a Paltrow representative.