Were there medical bills involved?
This country’s medical system and the insane costs of care are often the root of the litigation problem as the ski industry has found out. Most people who are serious about suing got hurt skiing or snowboarding and cannot afford to pay their medical bills, so it’s their only recourse. Or it would put them in a very bad spot financially.
Several people have written emotional letters that have gotten to ski and industry publications about how they always said they’d never sue another business, hate lawyers and the sue happy USA… but then when a leg injury required multiple surgeries and a year of PT, they were looking at financial ruin so they need to recoup money somehow.
I remember Powder Magazine running a letter from a high profile lawsuit after the fact where the dad basically said he sued only to keep a house over his family’s head and to protect his children’s college fund. The hospitals were looking for like a million dollars and his insurance was playing some hardball that the ski area (out west) should pay it and basically forced him to sue.
When there’s money at stake, people will do anything. Medical bills could also just be an easy scapegoat but it’s not a stretch to see how someone could quickly get in over their head with medical bills and look for a way out.