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Kenny Salvini ruins skiing

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coolhandluke
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 153
Kenny's lawsuit is tearing down park jumps before the season begins.

Kenny's lawsuit screws over thousands of skiers.



Kenny's lawsuit is the equivalent of the infamous McDonalds hot coffee in lap lawsuit.

Kenny's lawsuit prevents fun and terrain parks and will send us all back to the sad state that skiing was in the 80s.


Nov 12 2007 10:58AM
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Charley.
Posts: 1754 - Karma: 110
Humm...who is kenny salvini? can you tell more?
Nov 12 2007 11:00AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
Due to my understanding he is some gayper that broke himself in the park and he won a lawsuit against the mountain.
Nov 12 2007 11:12AM
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2bi40s
Posts: 275 - Karma: 15
man that kid's life is devoted around him being in a wheelchair, down to the name of his song. thanks for ruining skiing for many kids, ass.
Nov 12 2007 11:32AM
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FUUUCK
Posts: 18426 - Karma: 4,888
skiing will always be here as long as we are, let's not pretend that it's all this guys fault. he shouldnt of sued IMO, but he's not a skier either, he doesnt really know what he's done.
Nov 12 2007 11:57AM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
The worst part about this is that there probably is a lot of what happened that was some retard cat driver's fault.   Resorts don't pay park managers properly, nor do they respect what it means to have a qualified one.  There's no way to restrict a total moron building jumps, and these jumps are the sketchiest thing of all time. 

However, it fucking sucks that someone would lay a lawsuit, because yeah you can't build an impossible to overshoot table... skis can just go too fast.  

What sucks here is that this guy set a precedent, and ski resorts are reacting in completely the wrong way.   They aren't hiring qualified park managers and giving them the money they deserve, they're just cutting down the jumps. 

It is very easy to build a large jump that is as safe as is possible... you can also generally control who goes off of this jump by offering lots of various sized jumps that facilitate learning and progression.  With proper implementation of a park pass program and education, all things can be brought down to way less risk. 

But, time and time again mountains hire retards to run/build their parks and it ruins it for everyone else.


Nov 12 2007 12:06PM
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KZA
Posts: 3304 - Karma: 301
it shitty but its not like the kid sued to get rich or anything, he sued to pay for his medical bills and shit.



and as far as the mcdonalds thing, mcdonalds was at fault  because they served coffe that was like 40 degrees to hot for human consumption. They served it so hot because they figured most people drove to work and so it cooled down, but it spilt rigth away. so even though the dumb bitch spilld it mcdoanllds is at fault for serving coffee way to hot for human consumption
Nov 12 2007 12:07PM
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foodisfun
Posts: 5427 - Karma: 287
ditto.  they can take away all they want, as long as the mountains are still here, we will ski, and find ways around certain restrictions to still have fun.
Nov 12 2007 12:12PM
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eheath
Posts: 61595 - Karma: 122,983
Message sent.
Nov 12 2007 12:15PM
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TheButterHashira
Posts: 9691 - Karma: 1,702

For some reason I think the message went like this

"Hey you little bitch you ruined my skiing. Go to hell loser"

Nov 12 2007 12:21PM
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eheath
Posts: 61595 - Karma: 122,983
It actually said "Thanks for ruining terrain parks douche bag". I may send more though, I really hate this guy.
Nov 12 2007 12:22PM
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KZA
Posts: 3304 - Karma: 301
yo bishop is there any qualifications for being a cat operator? because if there was a very high standard that could be set by programs and gettin certified and shit then this would insure that there builders knew what they were doing and this would intern could insure safe parks and that unqualified cat operators woudlnt get jobs. just a though
Nov 12 2007 12:22PM
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TheButterHashira
Posts: 9691 - Karma: 1,702
Hmm could of been way worse.
I feel bad for that guy but its his fault that he went off that jump. Snoqualmie didn't make him go off of it.
Hopefully park passes will work and we will be saved from the evil lawyers.
Nov 12 2007 12:28PM
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TheButterHashira
Posts: 9691 - Karma: 1,702

wait he thinks hes a fucking hero?
Now I just went from sympathy to "fucking twat thinks hes a hero?"

Nov 12 2007 12:32PM
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Mr.Bishop
Posts: 22708 - Karma: 76,635
There's no certification or license for operating a cat.   There is also zero certification for building jumps - you just go out and do it. 

I can't drive a cat worth shit, but I can work with an uneducated cat driver and instruct them on what to do.   Someone involved in the operation needs to know exactly how to build a jump.   The problem is when a rider goes up to the mountain and says "We need sick jumps that are big and shit dude" and the resort goes to the grooming department and says "We need jumps for the youth of our resort" the groomer says "I'm a farmer how the hell do you expect me to do this?"  and the boss of grooming says "figure it out".

Thats where everything goes wrong... mountains know they need parks but can't find someone qualified to build it.  If you are qualified, generally you wouldn't stay in one of those jobs forever though, unless you work at mammoth or breck or something. 

Average east coast/midwest resort has like a 4 month season... pretty hard to make a career out of a 4 month a year job that pays like $13/hour.


Nov 12 2007 12:36PM
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TheButterHashira
Posts: 9691 - Karma: 1,702

His case was a step in the wrong direction. Lawyers are ruining everything. I really hope there is justice in the world and that lawyers go to hell.

Nov 12 2007 12:39PM
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coolhandluke
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 153
 ^ my one-line christmas list
Nov 12 2007 1:20PM
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psychkub
Posts: 1788 - Karma: 16

It ultimately sucks that there are some resorts that are removing man-made jumps from the terrain park this season, but after reading what Doug had to say, Imma play devil's advocate with the Salvini case and say that maybe this is the wake up call resorts needed. If it's true that anybody can go to a job fair to become a cat driver, what the hell kind of people do we have building some of these jumps? Granted, I think the complete removal of these features is BS and a complete overreaction to the situation (a park pass would be a more viable solution - but apparently resorts are too scared of losing any more money) and I'm not saying that all cat drivers don't know what they're doing, but maybe this was needed to regulate who can and cannot drive these machines and partake in the building of terrain features. So maybe this lawsuit was a good move done in poor taste... poor taste being as a result of a guy' recklessness being used to justify the end result. Anyway, those are my two cents on that issue.

Nov 12 2007 1:46PM
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chewy15
Posts: 674 - Karma: 60
^ i understand and agree with what your saying. but you have to be smarter then that. This guy seems like dude. decent wakeboarder and athlete. He should know whats up. Being an engineer and wakeboader he should understand the pricipals of a jump. His case is simply him being stupid. he didn't analyze the jump, clearly didn't watch anyone hitting the jump previous to him. No matter how un safe a jump is, if it's marked clearly, it is 100% your choice whether or not you hit it. It was his fault he hit the jump with a silly amount of speed. The conequences are terrible and i feel horrible for the guy but man it was your fault. If bishops idea of the 'new cat driver' becomes a reality it will be bomb but until that happens that guy pretty much fucked us over. I will be real surprised if the guy truely beleives that mountain was at fault over himself. He knows its bullshit, understandly he just want some fuckng money to make the best of his unbelievably shitty situation.

just my thoughts
Nov 12 2007 2:01PM
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psychkub
Posts: 1788 - Karma: 16
Hey chewy, don't get me wrong, I totally agree with what you're saying; the guy had no right going off a that jump. When I take my first stroll through a park, I scope out features that I deem either unhittable, or just out of my league and leave it at that. The premise behind the lawsuit is absurd, but what I'm saying is that maybe the secondary effect on the terrain park building industry will be a good one... as long as most other resorts don't coward out of the business as RCR has.
Nov 12 2007 2:37PM
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wiener
Posts: 2247 - Karma: 63
for all you guys that are going to flame this guy, think about it he did something stupid but medical billls in the US are astronomical. I dont know i guess i am just saying the dude is in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and doesnt need a bunch of snot nosed kids sending retarded comments to him all the time
Nov 12 2007 2:38PM
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skier_boy26
Posts: 11295 - Karma: 502
He sued for something like $30+ million, and was found 60% resonsible. Yet, it is causing a ripple effect in North America. Not good. He was basically stupid, and had to take it out against the ski resort. I hit the very same jump he hit (this was several years ago), and there was nothing to it. It was pretty small, with a big, and steepish inrun; he just didn't know what to do with that and got it bad.

Some guy died at the same area he became paralyzed around the same time (give or take a year) because he overshot a little 20-30ft table by about 90 feet. How can you be responsible for idiots like that? Well, park pass.


And all of you who are posting on his blog, give it up. He thinks he is the "big man" and will delete them after his followers say shit like "you're so brave kenny. Keep up the good work!" etc etc.... etc.
Nov 12 2007 2:46PM
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bsmith01
Posts: 1639 - Karma: 43
O fuck that, I say sen him some messages.  He sued for money and yes it might have been to pay some medical bills, but you have to take personal responsibility.  Why should someone else have to pay for your fuck up. 
Nov 12 2007 3:00PM
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agent420
Posts: 154 - Karma: 10
http://www.denverpost.com/skiing/ci_5682314

He sued and won 14 Million USD. 14 MILLION USD!!!!

I know he's in a wheel chair for life...but isn't this a little excessive?

Not to mention causing dissatisifaction amoungst an entire continent of park skiers / boarders.

It honestly seems like Kenny's greed is more of a driving factor rather than his "concern" for

future terrain park design safety.

I hate this fuckin dude.

Nov 12 2007 3:01PM
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KLovelace
Posts: 2118 - Karma: 289
ya. its pretty bad....  but its this country and fucking law suits.  everyone is sueing eachother like there is no tommorrow. and for bull shit too!!  it was his own EFin fault he overshot that jump... i agree. no fair. im pretty pissed about it all.
Nov 12 2007 3:07PM
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psychkub
Posts: 1788 - Karma: 16
You obviously don't know the amount of medical care that will be required for this guy and what that translates to in terms of monetary value.

I work in an ER, where I see people come in for simple abdominal pain and leave with a hospital bill that totals $5-7,000 for a two day stay. Multiply that for a lifetime and you'll realize that 14 million is really not a lot.

Regardless of the fact that it was his fault, I can see why so much was awarded to him.
Nov 12 2007 3:53PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
This is from the original article in the Seattle Times....

"Over the course of his life, Salvini's medical needs are estimated to cost between $23 million and $26 million"

So yeah, 14 million could possibly be just over half the cost of the medical bills he will need to pay over his lifetime.

My take on this is that the ski resort fucked up and that he fucked up.  Both are responsible.  It sucks that his actions in this case are going to have an effect on skiing everyday, but maybe it will be a push for ski areas to ensure that their parks are safer.

Granted, this guy hugely fucked up and if he had been as competent of a skier as he claimed he was, I doubt he would be in this position today.

But honestly, everyone here saying they hate this guy because he sued over this is being ridiculous and hypocritical.  If you were in his shoes, I doubt there are many kids here that wouldn't sue the ski area, particularly when they are faced with 25 million dollars in medical bills just to try and be a functional person again.

I just think the hate is overzealous.  He fucked up, the jump appears to have been poorly made, it is a shitty situation for the ski areas and an even shittier one for him. 

and yeah, saying this guy ruins skiing? Give me a break.....
Nov 12 2007 4:01PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
And I would add....I am all for park passes.  I think that there would be a huge decrease in the number of injuries in terrain parks if the people in there were not people in them wearing starter jackets from Nebraska who texan-tuck into huge jumps and almost kill themselves.

The worst crashes I have seen in the terrain parks are always people who don't know what they are doing, go to fast, land on the back of their head/neck.  Park Passes would help solve this problem very quickly.
Nov 12 2007 4:05PM
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A_T_K
Posts: 1403 - Karma: 12
yeah for real, if this guy ruins skiing for you then that is pretty beat. i understand that some homies on the ice coast may have nothin more than a park...but thats exactly the reason why i will never travel out there for skiing.
Nov 12 2007 4:10PM
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Valind
Posts: 4358 - Karma: 17
Its one thing to sue over medical bills but come on $14 million?  Thats just being greedy in my eyes.  He was looking for something like $30million, American greed at its finest.
Nov 12 2007 4:10PM
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molsongolden
Posts: 1649 - Karma: 162
stop bringing this shit back up and i hate the kid who started this thread again because you are a tool
Nov 12 2007 4:12PM
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coolhandluke
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 153
but how can snoqualmie be forced to pay upfront for his lifetime costs?  thats whats got all the other resorts running away with their tails between their legs.

say kenny takes this huge lump sum and invests wisely and BAM, he's a billionaire at age 50?  then will you say that?

we're all gonna be ballet skiing again (for lack of jumps) while he's wiping his ass with uncut dead presidents

Nov 12 2007 4:13PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
again, his medical bills are expected to be between 23-26 million dollars.  Asking for $30 million than doesn't seem that greedy considering....
Nov 12 2007 4:15PM
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Valind
Posts: 4358 - Karma: 17
You talking lifetime?
Nov 12 2007 4:26PM
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coolhandluke
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 153
ok lets meet up at the jump line at fernie
Nov 12 2007 4:27PM
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Scolson
Posts: 2904 - Karma: 92
So I don't get how he won his case.

It says right on your lift ticket, "If you die it's not our fault, don't ski above your limits" (to paraphrase)

People die by flying mach 1 into trees quite a bit.  but yet they don't have to remove the trees from the resorts.
Nov 12 2007 4:31PM
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agent420
Posts: 154 - Karma: 10
If you're talking about "lifetime" of medical costs...then ya his bills can add up astronomically...if he lives to the age of 90.

Regardless no matter what sum of money he recieves he'll never walk again...and that's pretty shitty.
But I definitely do not buy into his whole "Martyr" image.
Nov 12 2007 4:40PM
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GetPitted
Posts: 3443 - Karma: 2,299
this is why I'm confused also
Nov 12 2007 4:40PM
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Treestman
Posts: 3049 - Karma: 300
yea, but jumps are manmade, trees are not
Nov 12 2007 4:44PM
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Rippy087
Posts: 666 - Karma: 12
don't give them any more ideas
Nov 12 2007 4:45PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
Yes. Lifetime.  His condition is not likely to improve anytime soon.

And regarding the blame and settlement.  I believe he was found to be (60%?) responsible for his injuries.

BUT, they did have some physics professor come in and test them jump and he did determine that it was poorly made and that the landing was not correct for the angle of the jump, so because of that the resort was also found partially (40%?) responsible.
Nov 12 2007 4:46PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
....

did you really post that?  I highly doubt he is focused right now on being a billionaire, rather dealing with the physical and emotion struggle of never being able to walk again.

Again, I think he has been a bit douchey about this whole thing.  I do not like the fact that he seems to feel all holy and shit about this, BUT his life is changed forever and I am not going to judge him and how he deals with what has been a fucking horrible situation for him.


Nov 12 2007 4:50PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
which is why the jury found that he was 60% responsible for his injury.  From the description he gave, he fucked up for sure.  Careless is a very good word to describe it.

But legally and scientifically it was found that the jump, made by the resort, was incorrectly made.  And legally that was all they needed to shoe the prove that some of the fault was on the resort, not the skier (not sure I completely agree with this...but I have been in some terrain parks before were I wonder how the hell they can let people hit the terrain features there because they are so dangerous and poorly made).
Nov 12 2007 4:53PM
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jason...
Posts: 9006 - Karma: 780
hes a fucking moron, if he is an experienced athlete and engineer then he should have inspected the jump watched otehr people hit and not go mack 10 into a jump that needs mack1, bottom line hes an idiot and he assumed the risks going into the terrain park, fucking moron, i hope they dont take away jumps at my home mountain because of this idiot
Nov 12 2007 4:53PM
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*monsterskier*
Posts: 2671 - Karma: 61
how old is this guy?
Nov 12 2007 4:58PM
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KLovelace
Posts: 2118 - Karma: 289
hes like 24 or something!!
Nov 12 2007 5:01PM
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Valind
Posts: 4358 - Karma: 17
Well in the Denverpost write up he was 27 and that was like March of 2007
Nov 12 2007 5:11PM
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