Trial Magazine

Judy Zhou, 9, went skiing at the Tuxedo Ridge Ski Center in New York. While on a beginner hill, she struck a heavy, white PVC pipe that was drilled into the snow near the chair lift line and extended 20 feet across the ski area. Zhou suffered a fractured right femur at its growth plate, necessitating open reduction surgery and three months of physical therapy. Additionally, she required a brace for the next two years. Now 13, her right leg remains angled and is shorter than her left. Her past medical expenses totaled approximately $61,200.

Zhou’s parents, individually and on her behalf, filed suit against the ski resort and its owner, alleging negligent placement of the PVC pipe across the beginner hill. The plaintiffs’ expert testified that the defendants should have applied orange paint to the pipe, which was camouflaged by the snow, and that the pipe lacked an orange disk, which—if affixed to the top of the pipe—would have alerted skiers to its presence.

The jury awarded the plaintiffs $19 million. The court denied the defendants’ motion for a new damages trial or for remittitur.

Citation: Zhou v. Tuxedo Ridge, LLC, No. 1229/14 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Queens Cnty. Nov. 29, 2017).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Souren A. Israelyan, New York City.