Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash victim can’t enjoy wine tastings due to injuries, expert says

A medical expert at the Gwyneth Paltrow ski crash trial says the man she allegedly hit suffered such a blow that he can no longer do the things he enjoys, including wine tastings and spending time with loved ones. 

Dr. Wendell Gibby, a neuroradiology specialist at the University of California, San Diego, said Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, showed signs of traumatic brain damage that altered his behavior after Paltrow, 50, allegedly ran into him on a ski slope at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah on Feb. 26, 2016. 

“Terry had been a high-functioning, active person,” Gibby told the court Wednesday. “Every day he was doing lots of things. Meeting groups, wine tasting, skiing, volunteering.

“After the accident, he deteriorated abruptly and many of the activities he loved to do, he stopped doing.” 

Sanderson, a retired optometrist, claims his way of life was permanently derailed after Paltrow allegedly slammed into him and fled. Paltrow, however, claims Sanderson was the one who crashed into her. 

She sat quietly in the Park City court on Wednesday with a button-down cream sweater, brown corduroy pants and her hair tied back as she sipped on green juice. She remained on her phone and appeared to be texting during Gibby’s testimony.   

Gibby said that while Sanderson appeared to pass all his tests checking for neurological damage, the former Army doctor failed one exam. Gibby concluded that Sanderson demonstrated abnormalities in his reasoning abilities. 

The neurologist noted that Sanderson has had to call the police to help him find his car in a parking lot while out hiking one day, and that he’s even gotten lost at a Home Depot. 

Gibby added that following the crash, Sanderson’s relationship with his children, grandchildren and girlfriend all suffered due to his alleged change in cognitive abilities. 

He also rejected the defense’s claim that Sanderson’s health problems were caused by pre-existing conditions and advanced age. 

“I don’t think we can pin his problems on his pre-existing conditions,” Gibby said.

The expert ultimately concluded that Sanderson would likely never recover from the injuries he suffered on the ski trip that day, which he said were consistent with a head-on collision as the plaintiff also suffered four broken ribs.

Upon cross-examination, however, Gibby admitted that there was no clear evidence that the alleged abnormalities in Sanderson’s brain were caused by the skiing crash.

The expert also conceded that he failed to do an “extensive” analysis into Sanderson’s mental functions following the accident.

“I would agree that we did not do an extensive look into his neuropsychological functions,” he told the court.

Following Gibby’s testimony, the defense brought in Dr. Sam Goldstein, a neuropsychologist who teaches at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

Goldstein asserted that after reviewing Sanderson’s case, it was clear that the change in the eye doctor’s mental health was caused by the crash.

“In a chronology, looking at all the records and evaluating Mr Sanderson, the one event that would appear to acutely lead to the symptoms he was presenting is this particular accident,” Dr Goldstein said. “The ski accident.”

Prior to the start of court, her attorney complained that the Oscar-winning actress was being harassed by reporters and photographers in the courtroom, and that a camera placed directly in front of her on Wednesday had violated court decorum.

Sanderson is seeking $300,000 in damages over Paltrow’s alleged negligence, with the actress filing a countersuit for him to pay her $1 in damages as well as her legal fees.   

Paltrow’s attorney, Steven Owens, told jurors that Sanderson became “obsessed” with suing Paltrow and allegedly once told his daughter, “I’m famous” over the litigation. 

The former Army doctor’s lawyers argue that Sanderson suffered physical and mental anguish following the accident, which also impacted the relationship he was pursuing with a woman at the time. 

Sanderson claims the crash left him with broken ribs and a concussion, which led to the brain damage. Sanderson allegedly became angry and distant after the crash, damaging his relationship with his family and causing his 18-month romance with Karlene Davidson, of Utah, to fizzle out. 

In his opening statement on Tuesday, Sanderson’s attorney Lawrence Buhler described the actress as a “distracted skier” who was “reckless” on the day of the crash.  

Owens slammed the plaintiff’s claim as “offensive” and “utter BS,” claiming that Sanderson had a history of neurological problems. The defense attorney urged the jury not to reach a verdict based on sympathy for Sanderson’s condition.