Upscale ski resort Vail settles wrongful death lawsuit after New Jersey investment banker father of three accidentally HANGED himself while boarding chairlift
- The family of Jason Varnish, 46, of New Jersey, who died while riding a chairlift at the Vail Ski Resort, has settled their lawsuit against the resort
- Varnish died in February 2020 when a rubber bumper on the back of his chairlift caught his jacket and lifted him off his feet, leaving him hanging by his coat
- Varnish was hung for more than eight minutes and suffocated
The family of 46-year-old Jason Varnish, who died while riding a chairlift at Colorado’s Vail Ski Resort, has settled their lawsuit against the resort.
It was February 2020 while the father-of-three was riding the chairlift at Blue Sky Basin when the seat of the chair propped upright against the backrest.
Instead of folding the seat down for Varnish to sit on, the chairlift instead caught his jacket and he became tangled, lifting him off his feet as the chair rose into the air.
Varnish dangled from the chairlift, 10 feet off the ground, for more than eight minutes.
His jacket constricted around him, limiting his ability to breathe, resulting in his death by positional asphyxiation.
Jason Varnish, 46, of Short Hills, New Jersey, died of positional asphyxia after his coat became tangled in a chairlift, resulting in his being hanged
Jason Varnish, 46, of Short Hills, New Jersey, died of positional asphyxia in the Blue Sky Basin area of Vail Mountain (File Photo)
Varnish had been skiing with his friend Steven Skolnick and both attempted to board the chairlift but the seat was in an upward position.
As they tried to get in, the men tried to push the seat down, but Skolnick fell.
Skolnick told Eagle County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Devan Salazar how he “yelled at the lift operator to stop the lift,” but “the lift operator wasn’t paying attention and was clearing the snow in the area.”
“Jason struggled, trying to get off the hook and open his coat,” the report details.
Skolnick, along with several spectators, attempted to reach Varnish’s feet to push him up and relieve the pressure on him when it became clear he was suffocating.
Skolnick “ordered the elevator operator to reverse the elevator,” the report said.
Initially, the elevator operator said he couldn’t reverse the elevator without permission, but eventually did.
Paint has been ‘shortened’. He was unconscious and had to be revived.
The Varnish family filed a lawsuit against Vail in Eagle County District Court, alleging that the resort violated the provisions of the Colorado Ski Safety Act and the rules of the Colorado Passenger Tramway Safety Board.
The Blue Sky Basin closed about 24 hours after the accident and reopened around midday on Friday. A map of the resort is shown above
The lawsuit made “factual allegations” against Vail, citing, among other things, a failure in training and procedures to safely evacuate a person suspended from a chairlift.
Vail Resorts denied the allegations, arguing that the waiver and release provisions on Varnish’s ski pass and rental equipment documents prevented the complaint from even being filed by Varnish’s children.
However, a settlement was reached shortly before the trial and nearly three years after his death. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Family attorney Peter Burg called it an “unnecessary and avoidable tragedy” that left a “gaping hole” in the hearts of Varnish’s loved ones.
The tragedy raised serious questions about safety protocols at ski resorts and the adequacy of chairlift regulations.
The Varnish family hopes their lawsuit will lead to greater accountability and improved safety measures at ski resorts, ultimately preventing future accidents like the one that killed Varnish.