Shannon Soignier, RN, JD — Personal Injury Attorney
You went down hard on the mountain, and now you wonder who pays. Colorado's Ski Safety Act answers that for some injuries and not others. Shannon Soignier, an attorney and a registered nurse, can help you sort out yours.
Years of Legal Experience
Years as a Registered Nurse
Sometimes. Colorado law says you generally cannot recover from a ski area for an injury caused by the inherent dangers of skiing: snow conditions, trees, rocks, terrain. But the same law leaves three routes open. A ski area that broke one of its own safety duties can be responsible. So can a skier or snowboarder who ran into you. And a ski area can answer for how a lift was run.
Which route fits your injury is the whole question. It gets settled early, by what you document and when you act. General information, not legal advice.
Shannon Soignier's practice is personal injury and workers' compensation, out of an office on Main Avenue in Durango. She has been a nurse for more than 35 years and a lawyer for more than 20.
Last updated: November 7, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
The rules live in Article 44 of Title 33 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S. § 33-44-101 and following), the Ski Safety Act. It tells ski areas what they owe skiers. It tells skiers what they owe each other. And it says who pays when someone gets hurt.
Two provisions do most of the work. First, each skier “expressly accepts and assumes the risk of and all legal responsibility for any injury” from the inherent dangers and risks of skiing (§ 33-44-109(1)). Second, no skier may make a claim against or recover from a ski area operator for an injury resulting from those dangers (§ 33-44-112).
“Skier” is a wider word than it sounds. Section 33-44-103(8) covers anyone sliding downhill on snow or ice on skis, a snowboard, a sled, a tube, a toboggan, or a snowbike. Every lift ticket must carry the warning too (§ 33-44-107(8)).
The definition sits in § 33-44-103(3.5), and ski areas lean on it hard. It includes:
That list has an edge. By its own terms, it does not include a ski area operator's negligence. And under § 33-44-104(2), a ski area's violation of the Act, or of a rule from the state passenger tramway safety board, counts as negligence to the extent it causes injury.
Take hydrants and pipes. The operator must mark any that skiers can't readily see from 100 feet away and cover them with shock-absorbent material (§ 33-44-107(7)). Here is a hypothetical: a hydrant sits unmarked and unpadded on a run, hidden until a skier is almost on top of it. That is the kind of fact pattern a claim under § 33-44-107(7) would start from. A marked, padded hydrant is part of the sport.
When it broke a specific duty in the Act, and that break caused your injury. A hunch that the run was too icy won't carry a claim. A missing sign or an unmarked hazard might. The duties are concrete:
Even a valid claim against a ski area has a ceiling. Under § 33-44-113, total damages are capped at $1 million in present value, and noneconomic loss (pain and suffering) at $250,000. A court may award more for future lost earnings or future medical costs if the cap would be unfair. The cap does not apply to a passenger hurt on a lift.
Lifts are their own lane. The Act says its list of inherent dangers does not limit a ski area's liability for injury caused by the use or operation of a lift (§ 33-44-103(3.5)). The damages cap skips lift passengers; the statute calls a lift a “passenger tramway.” And an operator that breaks a rule of the state's passenger tramway safety board is negligent if the violation causes harm (§ 33-44-104(2)).
Riders have duties too. Under § 33-44-105, a passenger must follow posted and spoken instructions, load and unload at designated places, and ask for help before boarding if unsure how to ride. A lift case often turns on loading procedure and what the signs said. Photograph the loading area and note the chair or tower number.
You can bring a claim against them. Section 33-44-109(1) says a skier is not barred from suing another skier, and that a skier-on-skier collision is neither an inherent risk nor a risk assumed in a suit between skiers. (Collisions do appear on the inherent-danger list when the defendant is the ski area, so who you sue matters.)
Fault turns on a short list of duties. Every skier must control speed and course and keep a lookout. The primary duty falls on whoever is skiing downhill to avoid anyone below (§ 33-44-109(2)). A skier starting from a stop, or merging in from the side, must avoid skiers already moving (§ 33-44-109(8)). Anyone in an injury collision must give a name and address to staff or patrol before leaving (§ 33-44-109(10)).
Your own conduct counts too. Colorado reduces damages by your share of fault. If your negligence is as great as the other person's, you recover nothing (C.R.S. § 13-21-111). A rider who stops just below a blind roll may be handed part of the blame.
Further reading: Colorado Comparative Negligence: Can You Recover?
Possibly, but less than a ski area might hope and less than you might fear. The warning printed on your ticket, required by § 33-44-107(8), is notice of the statute. The statute applies to every skier whether or not you signed anything.
A release is a separate question. Many areas ask for a signed waiver, or tuck one into season-pass or online ticket terms. Colorado courts decide case by case whether a release holds up, and the wording matters: how clearly it is written, what it covers, and whether it was fairly entered into.
A release is not automatic game over, and it is not automatically worthless. Bring a copy of anything you signed or clicked, pass terms included.
Purgatory Resort sits inside a Forest Service special use permit area on the San Juan National Forest, in the Columbine Ranger District. That is the Forest Service's own description. A company running a ski area under a federal permit is still a ski area operator under the Act, which covers whoever has operational responsibility for the area (§ 33-44-103(7)). On the statute's face, the rules above apply to Purgatory like any other Colorado ski area.
Federal land adds one wrinkle. A claim against the United States itself, rather than the operator, has its own track. Federal law requires the claim to be presented in writing to the federal agency within two years after it accrues, and a lawsuit generally has to wait until the agency denies it or six months pass (28 U.S.C. §§ 2401(b), 2675(a)). Mention any federal role on the first call.
Shannon's office is in Durango, and she serves the Four Corners region. The mountains people ask about most:
The Act applies to ski areas across Colorado, so a Telluride injury raises the same questions as a Purgatory one. One limit: a ski area owes no duty, as an operator, to skiers beyond its marked boundaries (§ 33-44-108(4)). Backcountry injuries raise different questions. Call with the details.
Two years against a ski area. Section 33-44-111 requires actions against a ski area operator or its employees, for injury caused by running a passenger tramway or a ski area, to be brought within two years after the claim arises. A claim against another skier falls under Colorado's general two-year rule for tort actions (§ 13-80-102(1)(a)).
One wrinkle. The Act counts an agency of the state or a political subdivision as a ski area operator (§ 33-44-103(7)). If a publicly run area is involved, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act can require a written notice of claim within 182 days of discovering the injury (§ 24-10-109). Whether it applies is a fact question, so ask early.
Further reading: Colorado Personal Injury Statute of Limitations
Shannon Soignier has practiced law for more than 20 years and worked as a registered nurse for more than 35. In a ski case, the nursing half shows up in the medical records. Knee ligament tears, fractures, concussions, and spine injuries each call for different documentation, and the first chart often sets the tone for everything after it.
A knee that feels loose or a head that feels “off” needs an exam the same day. Shannon reads imaging reports and treatment notes the way a clinician does, then explains them in plain language to you, to insurers, and, if a case goes to trial, to a jury.
Related practice areas: brain and spinal injuries and back and neck injury. See our Durango personal injury practice, read more about Shannon, or contact us for a free consultation.
Common questions about ski and snowboard injury claims in Colorado
Not for the sport's inherent dangers: snow, trees, rocks, terrain (C.R.S. § 33-44-112). But sometimes yes. If the ski area broke a duty in the Act, or a lift's operation caused the injury, a claim may be open (§ 33-44-104(2)). Your facts decide.
Two years against a ski area or its employees (§ 33-44-111). Two years against another skier (§ 13-80-102). A publicly run area can add a 182-day written notice (§ 24-10-109).
It depends on which duties each skier broke. The skier coming downhill has the primary duty to avoid anyone below (§ 33-44-109(2)). A skier starting from a stop or merging from the side must avoid skiers already moving (§ 33-44-109(8)). Fault is then divided by percentage under § 13-21-111.
Yes. Under § 33-44-113, total damages from a ski area top out at $1 million in present value, with noneconomic loss and derivative claims capped at $250,000 each. A court can award more for future earnings or medical costs if the cap would be unfair. Lift passengers are outside the cap.
Lifts are treated differently. The Act's inherent-danger list doesn't limit a ski area's liability for injuries from running a lift (§ 33-44-103(3.5)), and the damages cap leaves out lift passengers. The deadline is still two years (§ 33-44-111).
Not automatically. The ticket warning restates the statute, which applies either way. A signed release is judged case by case, and its wording matters. Bring anything you signed to your consultation.
A ski area has no duty, arising from its status as an operator, to skiers beyond its marked boundaries (§ 33-44-108(4)). Other claims, such as one against another skier, may still exist depending on what happened.
The consultation is free. If you hire Shannon, she is paid only if she wins your case. You may still owe costs or the other side's court-ordered attorney fees. No result can be promised.
Act before a deadline passes. Free consultation. Paid only if she wins. You may still owe costs or the other side's court-ordered attorney fees.
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