In the first week of January 2026, a young boy was celebrating his birthday with his family at the Ski Apache resort in New Mexico. News sources, which did not indicate the child’s name or age, reported that Ski Apache staff responded to an accident at the resort and promptly called 911. The child was transported to a hospital by ambulance and then airlifted, to go to a hospital with more specialized facilities for treating patients injured in traumatic accidents. He died en route to the second hospital, and the helicopter made an emergency landing in Alamogordo. Those were the only details reported by professional journalists, but user-generated reports circulated on social media, saying that the boy had fallen from a ski lift and suffered fatal injuries.
People who get injured in preventable accidents at ski resorts have the right to seek compensation through premises liability claims. If you got injured in an accident at a ski resort, contact a Santa Fe slip-and-fall and premises liability lawyer.
What Can Go Wrong With a Ski Lift?
Skiing is a thrilling experience; if you have done it, you understand why people choose this millennia-old hobby over all the distractions that smartphones can offer. Never are you more aware of the laws of physics than when you are skiing. Gravity and lack of friction propel you to the bottom of the mountain faster than you knew you could go. The ski lift, by contrast, seems like an ironic parody of amusement park thrill rides. Creaky gears convey rickety chairs to the top of the mountain at a snail’s pace; sometimes it seems like it would be more practical and more fun to ski uphill instead of bothering with the chair lift.
Ski lifts are more perilous than they seem, though. When the weather is appropriate for skiing, everything is slippery and icy. Skiers are unwieldy in their skis, their heavy coats, and bulky mittens.
Ski Resorts and New Mexico Premises Liability Laws
Premises liability is the legal doctrine that the owners of a property are legally responsible for the safety of visitors, and that visitors who get injured in preventable accidents have the right to file personal injury lawsuits against the property owner. How cautious the property owner must be about protecting visitors from safety hazards depends on why the visitors are visiting. The highest level of duty of care applies to business invitees, who are known as paying customers in layman’s terms. Employees must frequently inspect all areas that customers go to make sure that there are no hazards that would increase the risk of falls and other injuries. Ski lifts, like amusement park rides, require frequent inspections and maintenance, and employees must ensure that guests are secured properly when they ride.
Contact Slate Stern About Premises Liability Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured in ski resort accidents in New Mexico. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
Sources
https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/child-dies-after-incident-at-ski-apache
Photo by Alexandra Luniel on Unsplash