Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial: A man is suing the actress expected to stand Friday

CNN
–

Gwyneth Paltrow could take the stand early Friday in a Park City, Utah courtroom during an ongoing trial over a 2016 skiing accident in which she was involved, but first, the man suing her will have her say.

The actress and businesswoman has been present in the courtroom since the trial began Tuesday when attorneys representing Paltrow and Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired ophthalmologist, delivered their opening statements to a seated jury.

His lawyers said Sanderson is expected to testify on Friday.

At the end of Thursday’s proceedings, Sanderson’s attorneys indicated that Paltrow would take a stand on Friday “if there is time.”

Sanderson has accused Paltrow of colliding with him and causing permanent injuries and brain damage while they were skiing a rookie on a Utah mountain in February 2016. Sanderson also claims that Paltrow and her coach skied away after the accident without injuring him. healthcare.

Paltrow filed a counterclaim against Sanderson in 2019 claiming he skateboarded on her.

The two have been in a legal battle for seven years.

In the days after the trial began, a number of witnesses testified, including Sanderson’s friend Craig Ramone, who was also on the slopes on the day of the collision. Ramon was the first witness to testify at the trial on Tuesday.

Radiologist Wendell Gibby testified Wednesday that Sanderson “deteriorated” after the collision and stopped doing many of the activities he was doing before the crash. The jury also heard expert witness testimony from neuropsychologist Sam Goldstein, who evaluated Sanderson in 2020 and testified about various shifts in Sanderson’s mental health since the crash.

On Thursday, Sanderson’s daughter Polly Sanderson-Grasham gave an emotional testimony about how, a year and a half after the accident, she noticed her father’s “processing speed” seemed to have changed. Sanderson Grasham later said that her father was “a man of principle” and that she believed he wanted “someone to at least apologize or acknowledge or be held accountable for his decision that day”.

Video recordings of Alina K. were also shown. Fung, a clinical neuropsychologist who treated Sanderson after the crash, and Richard Bohme, a biomedical engineer who testified as an expert witness, appear in the jury on Thursday. Boehme evaluated Sanderson in 2021 and testified that he believed the injuries Sanderson suffered to his ribs could have been the result of a blow from behind.

In court documents originally filed by Sanderson and obtained by CNN in 2019, Sanderson states that while skiing at Deer Valley Resort, Paltrow allegedly “went out of control…kicked him hard, knocked him over, caused a brain injury, and four fractures.” ribs and other serious injuries.

According to Paltrow’s counter suit, she was “enjoying skating with her family on vacation in Utah, when the plaintiff — who was a slog of Ms. Paltrow — shoved her back. She took a full body blow. Ms. Paltrow was furious with the plaintiff, and said so. Plaintiff apologized She was shaky and upset, and she stopped skating for the day even though it was still morning.”

Sanderson initially sued Paltrow for $3.1 million, but later amended his complaint and is now seeking more than $300,000 in damages, according to court documents.

Paltrow demands $1 in damages, plus attorneys’ fees.