Judge Allows Suit in Maine Ski Lift Accident to Move Forward

A Maine judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought by a Delaware family injured in a ski lift accident in 2010 can move forward.

Michael Katz, who suffered a broken back and traumatic brain injury, was the most seriously injured of the eight people hurt in the December 2010 accident at Sugarloaf Mountain in Carrabassett Valley. His daughters, 13 and 11 at the time, suffered back and head injuries.

They sued the ski area’s operators and associated entities in October, seeking unspecified damages.

The Sun Journal reports that Franklin County Justice Nancy Mills last month dismissed a counterclaim by the ski area and ruled that the ski lift is a common carrier.

A lawyer for the Katzes called the ruling “very good news.”

A Sugarloaf spokesman could not be reached.