PARK CITY, Utah — A family is suing the owners of Park City Mountain Resort over an incident in 2020 when a girl fell from a chairlift.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this month against Vail Resorts, the parent company of PCMR, by Leo Mak and his daughter, Megan Mak.
"I tried to yell to the operator, and I remember that time, there was only one operator there and many customers," said Leo.
The complaint said the father and daughter were at Park City celebrating Megan's 10th birthday. She was getting onto the Iron Mountain Express lift along with some friends, and they said the chair left the boarding area before they were properly seated. Megan fell just afterward, leaving her dangling from the chair while her friends held her by her arms.
"The chair kept going up ... I think it was almost like 2-3 minutes, and my daughter just kept slipping more and slipping more," Mak continued.
The lawsuit states that the lift operator didn't stop the lift, despite apparently seeing what happened.
The Maks say Megan's friends shouted at the operator to stop the lift, as did Leo, who was in the chair behind Megan and her friends. One of Leo's friends on the lift with him said she heard the operator exclaim, “Oh my god,” when he saw Megan hanging from the lift. However, they claim he still did not stop the lift, and it traveled about 300 yards before Megan fell to the ground below.
The plaintiffs say Megan suffered severe injuries, as did Leo — he reportedly jumped from his chairlift as he feared for her safety.
"I think I crushed my right wrist ... I also crushed my hip. I had maybe 4-6 broken ribs, I cracked my helmet, punctured lung," he said. adding, "When the doctors fixed my hips, he told me he had to cut one of my main nerves on my left thigh ... so my left thigh, the whole area, I can feel the constant numbness ... that's something I have to deal with."
The lawsuit also points out that the lift did not slow down when it approached Megan and her friends at the boarding area, and they did not have time to put down the safety bar. They also claim the operator did not help the group while they were getting on the lift.
The suit alleges that both Leo and Megan suffered "serious and permanent injuries including substantial pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life."
Megan's father said she has not fully recovered emotionally from the accident.
"She lost the interest in skiing, she doesn't really like it for now," he said. "I think something changed her and she doesn't really like to go to the mountain and ski anymore."
The family is requesting a jury trial. They are requesting damages (the amount of which is to be determined in the trial) for their medical expenses and other damages, along with the cost of the litigation.
