Gwyneth Paltrow Acquitted in 2016 Ski Accident Trial

March 30, 2023

After a trial that received national media attention and amassed millions of viewers on social media, actress and wellness brand founder Gwyneth Paltrow was acquitted of all charges in the ski crash that occurred at Deer Valley resort in Park City, Utah in 2016. The jury decided unanimously in her favor with $1 and the cost of her legal fees awarded in damages.

Paltrow testified that Sanderson ran into her on the ski slopes, causing some minor knee pain that she did not initially seek medical attention for. She recalled that she did not witness Sanderson seeking immediate medical attention following their crash either, despite his allegations of having permanent brain damage as a result of their collision.

BREAKING: The jury overseeing @GwynethPaltrow and #TerrySanderson’s ski crash trial returned a verdict completely siding with the famed actress. The jury found Sanderson at fault, awarding Paltrow $1 in damages and attorney’s fees. pic.twitter.com/SUsTOExXtT

— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) March 30, 2023

Paltrow’s children previously testified yesterday. Daughter Apple Martin recounted in a statement, “She came in, and she immediately…I noticed that she looked a bit shocked,” Apple said, according to a stand-in who read the deposition aloud in court. “And I asked what had happened and she said, ‘This a-hole ran into me. He ran right into my back.’ And I remember she did this motion, saying that he ran into her back and they both went down.”

Paltrow’s son Moses Martin witnessed the crash directly. Martin’s statement read, “I recall skiing with my instructor and briefly seeing the collision,” Moses said in his deposition, which was read aloud in court by another stand-in. “Then he skied over and I followed him. And I saw my mother and a person behind her… who had crashed.”

The trial caught the eyes of the internet for several reasons–Paltrow’s courtroom fashion, the humorous witness questioning, and Sanderson’s testimony. Before the jury decided the verdict today, many onlookers felt that Sanderson was guilty, accusing him of bringing up the incident seven years later as a cash grab.

I get the impression that despite losing he'll still be happy about all the attention he's getting alongside Gwyneth. The right decision was made, good on her for seeing it through

— Amanda Bee (@ajbee10) March 30, 2023

Paltrow’s lawyer, Stephen Owens, stated that the trial was a great exercise of the American legal system, saying that “it is such an important thing to solve disputes in our country in a peaceful manner.” Paltrow is yet to issue comment to the press regarding the case.