Skiers riding a chair lift at Sugarloaf Ski Resort in Carrabasset Valley, Maine fell 20-30 feet to the un-groomed snowy ground. Around 8 people, 3 of them children, were not seriously injured but were sent to the hospital. The 35 year old double chairlift fell off track, causing a line of chairs holding passengers to fall and leaving 150 other skiers suspended in the air for over an hour until they were rescued and brought down by patrols. There were high winds, around 40mph that day and the resort did not operate the lift that morning. However, it seemed safe enough to operate later on. The lift is due for replacement; it opened in 1975 and was adjusted and repaired in 1983. It also passed the 2010 inspection and each of the mountains’ lifts are inspected each day. Sugarloaf Ski Resort officials said the lift would be replaced and the resort will install a larger quad lift that is less vulnerable to the wind. The resort officials refused to mention when that lift replacement would actually happen. The lift is undergoing further investigation to discover the cause of the derailment.
You can never be too confident about safety. Although no one was hurt in this case, that does not mean the next time something similar to this incident will be the same. The resort is most likely dealing with many liability insurance companies and business insurance companies as we speak. If you are a business owner and have customers and workers, they are most likely at a risk of some sort of safety or hazard. Again, you can never be too sure and assume no one will ever become ill or seriously injured. There are agencies you can contact to inquire about your business’ insurance, general liability insurance, or worker’s compensation insurance.