Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial Day 4: Actress prepares to take the stand

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Goop guru Gwyneth Paltrow was back in court in Utah today as her trial over a ski slope smash entered its fourth day.

Despite blizzard conditions in Park City, the A-lister arrived wearing a $248 pair of mirrored Rayban aviator sunglasses which she paired with a long navy coat, a navy blue dress and a black pair of $1,200 Celine boots.

The actress, 50, is scheduled to take the stand today to give her account of the February 2016 ski crash that allegedly left retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, 76, with four broken ribs and a permanent brain injury.

Paltrow denies crashing into the retiree and countersued, saying he was the one who skied into her on a beginner slope on Flagstaff Mountain – leaving her angry and sore.

Sanderson is also set to take the stand today and the court will also hear the second half of testimony by Florida neurologist Dr. Richard Boehme MD and from Sanderson’s daughter Shae Herath.

Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial Day 4: Actress prepares to take the stand

Gwyneth Paltrow was back in court in Utah Friday for the fourth day of her ski crash trial. The actress, 50, is scheduled to take the stand today to give her account of the February 2016 crash that injured retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, 76

Despite blizzard conditions in Park City, the A-lister arrived wearing a $248 pair of mirrored Rayban aviator sunglasses which she paired with a long navy coat, a navy blue dress and a black pair of $1,200 Celine boots

Despite blizzard conditions in Park City, the A-lister arrived wearing a $248 pair of mirrored Rayban aviator sunglasses which she paired with a long navy coat, a navy blue dress and a black pair of $1,200 Celine boots

Despite blizzard conditions in Park City, the A-lister arrived wearing a $248 pair of mirrored Rayban aviator sunglasses which she paired with a long navy coat, a navy blue dress and a black pair of $1,200 Celine boots

Sanderson alleges he was left with four broken ribs and a permanent brain injury. Paltrow denies crashing into the retiree and countersued, saying he was the one who skied into her - leaving her angry and sore

Sanderson alleges he was left with four broken ribs and a permanent brain injury. Paltrow denies crashing into the retiree and countersued, saying he was the one who skied into her – leaving her angry and sore

Friday’s proceedings began with the cross examination of Dr. Boehme, who insisted the only explanation for Sanderson’s rib fractures was being hit from the left and landed on by Paltrow.

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Dr. Boehme, who drew his conclusions from a review of documents and a clinical session when Sanderson, said he had considered an alternative – that Sanderson hit Paltrow – but thought his injuries could not have been caused that way.

He also dismissed suggestions that Sanderson was ‘malingering’ or exaggerating the extent of his injuries.

Sanderson’s legal team then called Mark Herath, a FedEx pilot and the brother-in-law of his daughter Shae.

Herath said the pair had been close prior to the accident but became distant afterwards due to changes in Sanderson’s personality.

He told court he had been shocked after being told, the day after the accident, that Paltrow had skied away after allegedly hitting Sanderson, saying: ‘He said he heard a scream and got hit from behind, hit the snow and went unconscious and had to be taken off the mountain.

‘He said Gwyneth Paltrow hit him and she left the scene of the accident – that surprised me. Because my roommate in college, his mom got hit, and the kid tried to escape and they chased him down the mountain. That was in Colorado.

‘It’s a hit and run. It’s a serious offense. It’s something you just don’t do.’

He said Sanderson had become increasingly confused after the crash and gave up skiing in the aftermath.

Herath said: ‘It was like day and night since before and after the accident. He hasn’t skied since the accident.

‘I talked to him the first year after the accident about skiing but it was clear that was a dead end. He wasn’t mentally ready to ski again.’

He added: ‘It’s not enjoyable to be around Terry like it used to be because he’s confused a lot, the paranoia, he’s anxious around people. You can only take Terry in small doses now.’

Sanderson’s daughter Shae Herath told the jury that her father no longer ‘trusts his brain’ in the wake of the crash and the injuries he received

Paltrow is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a Sanderson during a 2016 family ski vacation

Paltrow is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a Sanderson during a 2016 family ski vacation

Later, Sanderson’s daughter Shae Herath told the jury that her father no longer ‘trusts his brain’ in the wake of the crash and the injuries he received.

Shae, who appeared visibly nervous on the stand and spoke in a sometimes shaky voice, said: ‘My dad has quite a few personality issues, the injury to his brain has caused significant damage – enough to cause personality changes.

‘My dad is very insecure, he doesn’t show it but he doesn’t trust his brain anymore. He used to be able to multitask and do all sorts of tasks and now he can’t follow through.

‘As his daughter, I feel that his life is exhausting.’

Yesterday, the trial heard from another of Sanderson’s daughters, Polly Grasham, 49, who said her father had been left dramatically changed by the crash.

Grasham said: ‘It’s really messy right now, it’s really hard. I think he’s in a really negative place and that’s hard for me as a daughter.

‘It’s like the main sentence is gone and all we have are the little details – part of the frustration is he gets caught up in little details and the primary focus is gone.

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‘I have to bring it full circle. I think he gets frustrated and angry. Now it’s very A to B, don’t throw in a C or a D. I understand there is a lot of grief and loss for the way his life functioned before, it doesn’t function like that now.’

Prior to the crash, Grasham said, her father had a ‘Mensa mind’, was good at troubleshooting and loved to spend time with granddaughters Hope, 25, and Anne, 22.

Yesterday, the trial heard from another of Sanderson's daughters, Polly Grasham, 49, who said her father had been left dramatically changed by the crash

At the end of her testimony, Grasham became tearful as she told the jury she hopes her family will be able to move on after the trial

Yesterday, the trial heard from another of Sanderson’s daughters, Polly Grasham, 49, who said her father had been left dramatically changed by the crash 

‘[He was] just really fun-loving, gregarious, really quick with a joke and a smile.

‘My dad was smart. I used to describe him as a Mensa mind. Quick to figure things out.’

She said she was told of the crash on the day it happened and knew he was getting medical treatment but only realized the extent of his injuries when he came to Idaho at the end of May 2016 for Hope’s graduation.

Grasham said: ‘There was a time when he was sitting in a chair by my window and I almost expected drool to be coming out of his mouth. 

‘He hadn’t engaged with anybody and had taken himself off to a remote corner – that was when I first felt something was terribly wrong.’

She also said Sanderson had become increasingly angry and ‘petty’ in the wake of the crash – in contrast to his previous behavior.

Grasham said the symptoms were worst in the first 18 months after the crash and have improved a little since but said he still struggles with multitasking and disorientation.

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