Hollywood actor Gwyneth Paltrow came out victorious in the trial involving a 76-year-old optometrist Dr. Terry Sanderson who had sued the Marvel star for causing an accident on the ski slopes 7 years ago.
According to Dr. Sanderson, Paltrow crashed headlong into him as she was skiing down, resulting in the doctor sustaining fractures to his ribs along with brain injury that affected his personal and professional life. He sued Paltrow initially for a sum of 3 million dollars which was later revised to over 300 thousand dollars in damages.
Gwyneth Paltrow for her part mounted her defense with the statement that it was Dr. Sanderson and not her who had caused the aforementioned crash. The actor went on to win the case and claim her damages which were later found to be just one dollar as desired her.
Paltrow’s blunt one-liner about having missed half a day of ski vacation turned out to be the statement of the trial, drawing criticism and support for the Iron Man Star. Post the very public trial, Dr. Sanderson is speaking out about the physical and mental trauma that he endured in his fight.
Also Read: $200M Rich Marvel Star Gwyneth Paltrow Wins Ski-crash Lawsuit, Gets Only $1 in Damages
“It Was Not Worth It”, Says Dr. Sanderson
After losing the trial, Dr. Terry Sanderson expressed his disappointment at the result but remained gracious in defeat. The doctor’s legal team was quoted saying,
“We are disappointed in the outcome, but we love and support the legal process. We thank Judge Holmberg, the jury, and the staff for all their efforts. We will spend the next while evaluating and discussing where we go from here.”
The lawsuit and the live-televised trial saw testimonies from Sanderson’s daughters and ex-girlfriend including public discussions about his medical history. When he was asked if all the effort and exposure of his personal life was worth it, he responded that it wasn’t. Sanderson also mentioned the long-term impact of a publicized trial and said,
“I joked about dating sites, right? It’s like, I’m gonna be on the internet forever. It’s the pain of trying to sue a celebrity.”
Sanderson was also asked about the possibility of turning his experience into a reality show to which he firmly opposed the thought and said that it was the last thing he needed at the moment.
Was Gwyneth Paltrow Let Off For Being A Celebrity?
Dr. Terry Sanderson who fought a 7-year legal battle with actor Gwyneth Paltrow realized that taking on a celebrity in a trial is tough work. The doctor lost the case against Paltrow but the result has thrown up a few speculations on the decision by the jury. One of the jurors Samantha Imrie when questioned about this factor clarified by saying,
“It’s important that the public doesn’t just think that this was a win because Gwyneth’s a celebrity. I think there was, in the back of my mind, yes, this woman’s an actress and I took that into account, but I didn’t feel she had a reason to lie under oath,”
Imrie also added that Dr. Terry Sanderson gave his version of the incident truthfully and sympathized with what he had gone through. But with a few distortions of facts that took place over 7 years of investigations, the jury ultimately had to take the call to give Paltrow the benefit of the doubt.
