That's just a risk you take in extreme winter sports, accidents are bound to happen. One of Robert Kennedy's sons, Michael was killed while skiing, and Natasha Richardson died from head trauma as a result of a ski accident.
Ahhh. Could it be, sir, that your purpose for skiiling at Lake Tahoe was, as you said, to "boost your ego a bit" and when you collided with the lady (which was likely just an accident that you both walked away from with little or no major injury...but you WERE injured in your pride because falling down in front of a pretty lady embarrassed you and shattered that image you had of a strong, athletic, confident man on the ski slopes, being ogled at by all the ladies.. You said it yourself...you were feeling down when you saw her later that night. Your ego was crushed a little bit. But you said it was at the end of the day before you sought initial treatment for your hurt ankle and then Monday before you saw a doctor.) I think seeing the pretty lady again right after you crashed into her made you feel a bit awkward and embarrassed because now, (at least in your mind) her first impression of you is she thinks you're a clumsy lummox, when, in truth, she just saw it as an innocent run-in, and there was no harm done. She immediately got up after the collision and was concerned enough to make sure you were OK before she continued skilling. While I'm sure (if you DID sprain your ankle) it was painful, it wasn't as dire and traumatic as it potentially could have been. You didn't perish in an avalanche and you didn't have to be airlifted to the hospital with life threatening injuries and put immediately on emergency life support. You were still out and about later that evening because you ran into her again...so your ankle must not have been THAT injured or you would have been in your room resting it and icing it, not walking on it in the ski lounge. Or you were such a drama king that you sprained your ankle and you were in a wheelchair when you encountered her, because you didn't want to miss out on the fun. Boo hoo. It was just a mild sprain and you are being a baby about it. I'm sure more than one person has sprained an ankle or worse during a tumble down the mountain. That is the risk you take when engaging in extreme sports....but you are a man and your ego was bruised and your pride was deflated when you crashed in the snow with the pretty girl and I think you wanted her to pay for crushing your fragile manhood, so you chalked up all these "injuries" to make her pay for your inconvenience and bolster your manly pride. You make it a point, not once, but at least THREE TIMES during your testimony to whine to Judge Ross about the fragile and damaged state of your ego, so its painfully clear to me that this is what you are really pouting about....not your sprained ankle, but your bruised ego. You even said that this was the "bunny slope" beginner's hill. Its not like this was a black diamond run, where it was super steep and you were both going very fast and she lost control and crashed into you and it caused severe injuries and an avalanche and you were in the hospital for months recovering.. This was just a little run-in on a little baby hill that barely has an incline that five year old children can safely ski on. This was NOTHING. And you blew this totally out of proportion because your pride was bruised. And its too bad you got so caught up in your fragile little ego, sir, because she sounds like a very sweet and effervescent lady who wanted to reach out a hand in friendship and show there were no hard feelings about the accident and rather than reaching out to accept her hand, when you encountered her that night, you totally disrespected her and gave her the brushoff because your pride and your ankle were both smarting and you wanted to pout like a child, rather than accept her friendship offer and move past this rather awkward first impression and try the introduction again, this time with just saying hello to the pretty lady and introducing yourself to her properly and having a good conversation over a drink, with the possibility of making a new friend. She stopped and made sure you were OK when you crashed and then, when she saw you later that night, she wanted to buy you a drink (possibly to apologize for crashing into you and the drink was to show there was no hard feelings on her part. A bully who was deliberately trying to sabotage you on the mountain wouldn't behave like this...they would have just kept on skiing and not given you a backward glance.) I think Judge Ross's verdict was both fair and correct. He was a first-time snowboarder...it is expected and practically guaranteed that a beginner on the ski slopes is going to have collisions and falls and they are more likely to be injured. It is even more likely to happen when the person in the accident was not respecting the rules. That's why they were on the bunny slope. They were both brand new skiers trying to hone their skills before attempting a steeper slope. He broke two of the cardinal rules of being on the bunny slope and one more on being a gentleman. He broke the rules because he was going down the bunny slope diagonally, when they were meant to go straight down the hill and he also failed to watch out for other skiers on the slope that were in front of him and give the right of way to the lady, because she was the one who was in front of him, on the hill, and thus he failed to avoid her and the crash occurred. She was in front so she couldn't see him. So that would make this accident HIS fault, no? Sounds like the sprained ankle was karma giving you a nice big dose of humble pie. A true gentleman would have apologized to the lady and helped her up from the snow.
