Imagine this: you’re skiing at Snowbird or Park City, and a lift suddenly jerks to a stop, throwing you against the side rail. Or maybe a poorly maintained treadmill at your gym malfunctions and causes you to fall. Both sound like accidents, but whether you can recover damages depends on why it happened and how the risk is classified.

Utah’s Inherent Risk of Skiing Act and Recreational Use Statute generally shield resorts, gyms, and parks from lawsuits involving natural or unavoidable risks like changing weather, terrain, or simple missteps. However, that protection stops where negligence begins. If a facility fails to inspect equipment, ignores safety warnings, or doesn’t properly train staff, liability can shift back to the operator.

Even signed waivers don’t give them a free pass. Courts often look closely at whether the facility acted reasonably and whether the injury was truly an “inherent risk” or caused by preventable human error.

Inherent Risk of Skiing Act (Utah Code §78B-4-401 et seq.). Operators aren’t liable for injuries caused by obvious hazards like variable snow or collisions with other skiers. But if equipment is defective, trails are improperly marked, lifts are operated unsafely, or staff training is inadequate, those protections may not apply.

Utah Recreational Use Act. Landowners who open land for public recreation without charge are generally immune from suit unless their negligence created or failed to address a dangerous condition.

Bottom line: Your ability to recover turns on whether the harm was an inherent risk or the result of preventable operator negligence.