A woman testified in court on Friday as part of a lawsuit brought forward by her father, Dr. Terry Sanderson, who is suing Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow for injuries caused by a skiing collision.
Shae Sanderson Herath, 52, spoke about her father’s health and how he has changed since being injured in the accident, the New York Post reported.
She said her daughter no longer wants to be around Sanderson due to his post-accident personality changes.
BREAKING: Terry Sanderson’s daughter testifies in ski collision trial against Gwyneth Paltrow.
Accuser’s daughter, Shae Herath says her father had a “zest for life – he loved to immerse himself and was a very engaged dad”.
Watch live: https://t.co/N0EtNIFbG0
📺 Sky 501/YouTube pic.twitter.com/lvapZwpAYH
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 24, 2023
Sanderson, 76, has accused Paltrow, 50, of plowing into him in a Feb. 26, 2016, skiing accident at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.
The accident allegedly left him with permanent brain damage, as well as four broken ribs and a concussion.
Paltrow and Sanderson have both acknowledged that the crash occurred but neither has admitted to being at fault for the accident, the Post reported. Each argued that the other was the one who caused the crash.
Gwyneth Paltrow claimed her accuser Terry Sanderson ‘categorically hit me on the ski slope and that’s the truth’, as she testified in a Utah court
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/kc81LnA6yM pic.twitter.com/SJoPXdbqrj
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 25, 2023
Do you think Gwyneth should be held accountable?
Yes: 63% (5 Votes)
No: 37% (3 Votes)
Sanderson is seeking $300,000 in damages, after initially suing for $3 million.
Herath, a mother of two girls, said the injuries turned her father into a completely different person — one which her daughter is afraid to be around.
She recounted an incident that occurred after the accident, in which she said her vehicle was malfunctioning.
Sanderson, she said, was extremely bothered by the inconvenience and began screaming and “laying it down hard” on one of his granddaughters, according to the Post.
“She doesn’t like my dad. She doesn’t like him,” Herath said of her daughter.
She added that Sanderson wasn’t always like this, and described him as a person “everyone seemed to love.”
“I really idolized my dad growing up,” Herath said, according to the Post. She said her father has since become “very insecure” and “doesn’t trust his brain anymore.”
Paltrow, however, doesn’t believe that the accident is responsible for Sanderson’s change of personality and has countersued, seeking one dollar and legal fees.
Her legal team has argued that his decline in mental health could have also been brought upon by his many preexisting health conditions, some of which Buzzfeed reported were serious.
Sanderson’s attorney, Kristin VanOrman, suggested that the countersuit was mimicking a move from Taylor Swift, who also countersued for one dollar in a 2017 lawsuit brought forth by former radio host David Mueller, Buzzfeed reported. Paltrow denied this and said she didn’t know of Swift’s case.
VanOrman also suggested that Paltrow’s countersuit is actually seeking “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to cover legal fees.
“I’m asking for a dollar for me and then reimbursement of attorneys’ fees, which is a separate thing,” Paltrow said in response, according to Buzzfeed.
Sanderson is set to testify on Monday. After that, a jury will decide who is responsible for the skiing accident.
