Man injured in 2010 Maine chairlift collapse sues Sugarloaf

A former Delaware state senator has filed suit against Sugarloaf Mountain and its parent companies nearly three years after he and his two daughters plummeted 35 feet when the chairlift they were riding derailed.Michael Katz, who suffered a broken back and traumatic brain injury from the fall, was the most seriously injured of eight people hurt in the Dec. 28, 2010, accident at the Carrabassett Valley ski resort. He is the only victim to take Sugarloaf Mountain to court. Other people hurt in the fall have already reached undisclosed, out-of-court resolutions with Sugarloaf.
Attorney Benjamin Gideon, whose law firm, Berman & Simmons in Lewiston, represented five of the people hurt in the accident, said he filed the lawsuit in Franklin County Superior Court on Tuesday on Katz’s behalf after negotiations with Sugarloaf Mountain representatives in his case ended unsuccessfully. Sugarloaf Mountain spokesman Ethan Austin said the resort had tried to avoid going to court in Katz’s case, but the lawsuit didn’t come as a surprise. “We’ve been working with everybody who’s been involved in the accident since day one, including Mr. Katz,” Austin said, adding that talks with other injured parties ended with resolutions. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that in this case.”