TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — On March 14, Pam Schoen and Chad Fields filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming against Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Hoback Sports and Head USA, a sports equipment manufacturer, for personal injury and product liability.
Schoen and Fields, a married couple from Ellis County, Texas, are seeking over $75,000 in damages after an anniversary ski trip they took to Jackson Hole in March 2021 ended in injury. At the time, Schoen was an experienced 45-year-old skier, skiing since she was three, and in good health.
According to the complaint, the couple rented ski equipment from JHMR and Hoback Sports. On the blue run Sundog, faulty binding on one of Schoen’s skis blew off 10 to 15 feet in the air and caused her left boot to come out of her ski. She “twisted and buckled” her knee, which resulted in a lengthy fall that then dislocated her right shoulder and allegedly tore off her fingernails inside of her gloves. Schoen ultimately fell a total of 300 to 400 feet and “suffered significant injuries,” the complaint says.
The lawsuit claims that there were no natural or unnatural hazards on the groomed run that could have caused the binding to break, so responsibility for the “catastrophic malfunctioning” and serious injuries is landing on the three defendants with claims of liability and negligence of improperly maintained ski equipment quality.
“As a direct and proximate result of the negligent acts…Schoen sustained serious, disabling and permanent personal injuries for which she has received medical treatment and for which she has incurred necessary and reasonable medical care, treatment expense and will incur future medical expense based upon a reasonable degree of medical probability,” the complaint says.
The complaint also indicates that Chad Fields suffered a loss of spousal consortium, or the right to companionship with his wife, due to the damages.
The filed complaint is looking for the specific amount in damages to be determined in trial.
According to Eric Seymour, JHMR media contact, “JHMR does not comment on legal matters.”
