Suing a New Hampshire Ski Resort for Lodge and Parking Lot Slip and Falls

Every winter, thousands of locals and out-of-state visitors flock to New Hampshire's premier mountains-including Loon Mountain in Lincoln, Bretton Woods in Carroll, Attitash and Cranmore in the Mount Washington Valley, Cannon Mountain in Franconia, Gunstock in Gilford, and Mount Sunapee in Newbury. When a skier or snowboarder is injured on a downhill trail, ski resort insurers immediately cite New Hampshire's powerful "Ski Immunity" statute and the fine-print liability waiver on the back of the lift ticket to deny the claim. Because of this aggressive defense posture, many guests who suffer fractured hips, torn rotator cuffs, or concussions slipping on black ice in a base parking lot or falling on a flooded lodge locker room floor wrongly assume they cannot sue the resort.

In reality, New Hampshire law draws a sharp legal boundary between inherent risks on the alpine slopes and ordinary premises negligence in base lodges, walkways, stairs, and parking lots. When you step off the snow and enter the resort's commercial facilities, the ski mountain owes you the exact same duty of reasonable maintenance as any supermarket, hotel, or shopping center in New Hampshire. Below is a detailed breakdown of how to overcome ski resort immunity defenses and recover full compensation for non-skiing slip-and-fall injuries.

Slope Immunity (RSA 225-A:24) vs. Base Lodge Premises Liability

To understand why lodge and parking lot claims succeed where downhill trail claims fail, you must examine the statutory language of the New Hampshire Skiers' and Passengers' Responsibilities Act. Under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 225-A:24, any person who participates in the sport of skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, or snowshoeing accepts as a matter of law the "dangers inherent in the sport"-such as changing weather, variations in terrain, bare spots, moguls, trees, lift towers, and collisions with other skiers. In Rayeski v. Gunstock Area, 146 N.H. 495 (NH Supreme Court 2001) and Cecere v. Loon Mountain Recreation Corp., 155 N.H. 289 (NH Supreme Court 2007), the New Hampshire Supreme Court confirmed that resorts are immune from lawsuits arising from these on-slope inherent risks.

However, in Sweeney v. Ragged Mountain Ski Area, Inc., 151 N.H. 239 (NH Supreme Court 2004), the New Hampshire Supreme Court established a critical rule for injured plaintiffs: because N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 225-A:24 is a statute in derogation of the common-law right to sue for negligence, its immunity provisions must be strictly and narrowly construed, and the statutory scheme set forth in N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 225-A:1 is concerned only with winter sport activities occurring on alpine and nordic slopes (plus specific tramway rules under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 225-A:25).

Slipping on an untreated sheet of ice in a shuttle bus drop-off zone, tripping on a curled rubber mat in the rental shop, or being struck by a 200-pound slab of ice sliding off a lodge roof is not an inherent risk of downhill skiing. Instead, non-skiing areas are governed by general New Hampshire premises liability law under Rallis v. Demoulas Super Markets, Inc., 159 N.H. 95 (NH Supreme Court 2009), which requires the resort to exercise ordinary care to maintain its buildings and walkways in a reasonably safe condition and remedy or warn of hazards of which it has actual or constructive notice.

Why Season Pass and Lift Ticket Waivers Rarely Bar Base Area Claims

What if the resort claims you signed an electronic liability waiver when buying your Epic Pass, Ikon Pass, or day ticket? Under Barnes v. New Hampshire Karting Association, Inc., 128 N.H. 102 (NH Supreme Court 1986), New Hampshire generally prohibits exculpatory negligence waivers unless the defendant proves that the specific risk that caused the injury was within the contemplation of the parties when the release was signed. While a reasonable person signing a ski pass waiver contemplates risks associated with skiing down a mountain or riding a chairlift, New Hampshire courts scrutinize whether a patron ever contemplated releasing a commercial property owner from violating the New Hampshire State Building Code (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 155-A:2) in a cafeteria, restroom, or parking lot. Furthermore, non-skiing visitors-such as parents, grandparents, or lodge diners who never bought a lift ticket-have signed no waiver at all.

High-Risk Non-Skiing Hazards at New Hampshire Resorts

Wet Locker Room, Rental Shop, and Restroom Floors

Rigid plastic ski boots have low-friction soles that become dangerously slick on wet ceramic tile, polished concrete, or sealed hardwood. Thousands of guests track snow and slush into base lodges, locker rooms, cafeterias, and restrooms every hour. When a resort fails to install continuous rubberized non-slip matting from the lodge entrance through the locker rooms and restrooms, allows water to pool around clogged floor drains, or leaves curled, saturated throw rugs that catch ski boot buckles, the resort creates a foreseeable slip-and-fall trap.

Un-Sanded Icy Exterior Stairs and Parking Lots

Unlike New York and several other states, New Hampshire has rejected the "storm in progress" doctrine. Under Simpson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 N.H. 571 (NH Supreme Court 1999), a commercial landowner in New Hampshire cannot simply wait until a snowstorm ends to begin treating walkways; the owner must exercise reasonable care under all the circumstances, both during and after winter weather. At ski resorts, freeze-thaw cycles cause daytime snowmelt to run across asphalt parking lots and wooden exterior staircases, refreezing into invisible sheets of "black ice" by late afternoon when tired skiers return to their cars. Failing to sand, salt, provide code-compliant handrails under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 155-A:2, or repair broken heated-walkway systems exposes the resort to full liability.

Injuries from Falling Snow and Ice Shedding from Lodge Roofs

Steeply pitched metal and slate roofs on A-frame base lodges, waffle huts, and slopeside condominiums accumulate massive loads of heavy snow and icicles. Without properly engineered snow-retention bars ("snow guards"), heat rising from the building melts the bottom layer of snow, sending several-hundred-pound slabs of ice crashing onto pedestrian decks, outdoor dining patios, and entryways below. Because lodge roof geometry and eaves trough drainage are entirely within the resort's exclusive control, injuries caused by falling roof ice are classic negligence claims completely outside the scope of N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 225-A:24.

Step-by-Step Process to Sue a New Hampshire Ski Resort for a Base Area Fall

Step 1: Photograph the Hazard Before Resort Staff Alter the Scene

Ice melts, puddles get mopped, and rubber mats get rolled out within minutes of an accident. Before leaving the scene (or through a companion if you are immobilized), take cell phone photos and video showing the exact condition of the floor, stairs, roof overhang, or parking lot, including the lack of sand/salt, missing wet-floor cones, or absence of non-slip runners.

Step 2: File an Incident Report (Without Signing a Release)

Report the injury to Ski Patrol or Guest Services so an official incident report is logged with the date, time, and location. Make sure the report explicitly states that the fall occurred in the parking lot, lodge, or stairs-not while skiing. Do not sign any statement accepting blame or any post-accident release.

Step 3: Identify Whether the Resort Is Privately or Publicly Operated

Most New Hampshire resorts (such as Loon Mountain, Bretton Woods, Attitash, Wildcat, Cranmore, Mount Sunapee, Ragged Mountain, and Pat's Peak) are operated by private corporations or resort conglomerates. However, Cannon Mountain is state-owned and operated, meaning claims are subject to New Hampshire's sovereign tort claims rules and statutory damage caps under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 541-B:14, while Gunstock Mountain Resort is operated by a public county authority (Gunstock Area Commission) governed by N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 507-B:2. Identifying the exact corporate or governmental entity early is essential.

Step 4: Preserve Maintenance Logs and Weather Data

Your attorney will send a formal preservation demand requiring the resort to retain exterior and interior CCTV footage, parking lot plowing and sanding logs, housekeeping inspection sheets, and prior slip-and-fall complaints from the same season.

Step 5: File a Civil Complaint in the Proper New Hampshire Superior Court

If pre-suit settlement negotiations do not resolve the claim, your lawyer will file Form NHJB-2688-Se, New Hampshire, Judicial Branch, Superior Court Civil Complaint in the county where the resort is located or where you reside-such as the Grafton County Superior Court, North Haverhill, the Carroll County Superior Court, Ossipee, the Belknap County Superior Court, Laconia, or the Merrimack County Superior Court, Concord (or in federal court if you are an out-of-state resident suing a diverse corporate operator for over $75,000). The resort must file its response on Form NHJB-2689-Se, New Hampshire, Judicial Branch, Superior Court Answer to Civil Complaint. If a chairlift or tramway loading area was involved, regulatory records from the New Hampshire Passenger Tramway Safety Board, Concord will also be subpoenaed.

How Much Does It Cost to Sue a Ski Resort in New Hampshire?

• Contingency Attorney Fees: New Hampshire personal injury lawyers handle ski resort slip-and-fall lawsuits on a no-win, no-fee contingency basis (typically 33.3% of the recovery), advancing all litigation expenses upfront.
• Superior Court Filing Fee: $325.00 to file a Civil Complaint in any New Hampshire Superior Court (or $405.00 if filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire under diversity jurisdiction).
• Forensic Meteorology & Building Code Experts: Typically $2,500 to $7,500 (advanced by your attorney) to reconstruct freeze-thaw timelines, coefficient-of-friction floor slip testing, and building code stair/roof violations under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 155-A:2.

How Long Does the Process Take?

Under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508:4, you have 3 years from the date of the injury to file a premises liability lawsuit against a New Hampshire ski resort for a lodge, stair, or parking lot accident. Straightforward claims where surveillance video confirms an un-sanded icy walkway or un-matted wet locker room floor often settle within 6 to 12 months. If the resort's insurer files a motion for summary judgment arguing that a season pass waiver applies, litigating through Superior Court discovery and mediation typically takes 12 to 24 months.

If you suffered a serious slip-and-fall injury in a New Hampshire ski lodge, walkway, or parking lot, browse our directory of US attorneys to consult with a local New Hampshire premises liability lawyer who knows how to defeat ski resort immunity defenses.

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