Jan 2, 2008 6:20 pm US/Eastern
Outrage At Skier For Suing 7-Year-Old Boy
DENVER (CBS News) ―
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Scott Swimm, 8, ran into a skier at Arrowhead last January. His mother says that David Pfahler, 60, stopped in the middle of a catwalk, causing her son to run into him.
CBS
People upset over a man who sued a 7-year-old boy
over a ski collision have subjected him and his wife to "an electronic
tar and feathering," their lawyer said.
David Pfahler and Marlene Ambrogio left their Allentown, Pa., home
for the holidays because angry people tied up their phone lines with
repeated, automated calls since news reports of the lawsuit, attorney
Jim Chalat said.
Some sent angry e-mails and calls to Chalat's Denver law firm,
while others called Reader's Digest, where Pfahler works, and demanded
he be fired, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
Pfahler sued Scott Swimm, now 8, of Vail and his father, Robb
Swimm, in federal court in September. They said Scott, then 7, skied
into Pfahler, 60, at Beaver Creek in January.
Scott's parents, Susan and Robb Swimm, told the Los Angeles Times Pfahler had earned the public outrage.
"People are really angry about this, and they should be," Susan
Swimm said. "What kind of a message are we sending to our children if
we're just going to turn around and sue after an accident on a ski
slope?"
After the crash, Pfahler underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff
and a procedure to repair part of his clavicle, according to the
lawsuit. Chalat said the Colorado Ski Safety Act holds children just as
responsible for their actions as adults.
There are conflicting versions of the accident, the Times reports. Chalat says the boy sped into Pfahler.
Scott's parents tell a different story: They say the boy was going
slowly and apologized to Pfahler. Susan Swimm said Pfahler grabbed her
son, cursed and threatened to sue. Chalat called her account "a total
lie." Pfahler, he said, was taken away in an ambulance.
Chalat said that after the crash, Pfahler asked the Swimm family to
help pay his $35,000 of medical bills but never heard back. The lawsuit
seeks compensation for physical therapy, vacation time, nursing and
medical services provided by Pfahler's wife, and other expenses.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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