Gwyneth Paltrow's lawyers insist she didn't cause ski crash as trial begins

Gwyneth Paltrow's lawyers argued that the actress isn't to blame for a 2016 ski collision as the trial into the incident opened on Tuesday.

The Iron Man actress appeared in court in Park City, Utah on Tuesday for the first day of a civil trial in which she stands accused of seriously injuring Terry Sanderson, a 76-year-old retired optometrist, in a skiing accident at the Deer Valley Resort in 2016.

Sanderson claimed that Paltrow, 50, crashed into him on a slope and then skied away, leaving him prone and unconscious. Sanderson allegedly sustained "a brain injury, four broken ribs, and other serious injuries" in the incident.

"Distracted skiers cause crashes," said his attorney Lawrence Buhler said in court, reports BBC News. "She knew that skiing that way, blindly skiing down a mountain while looking up and to the side, was reckless; she knew that continuing to ski that way... she would crash into somebody below her."

Steve Owens, Paltrow's lawyer, called the claims "utter BS" and argued that the collision was Sanderson's fault.

He told the jury that his client had just begun descending the slope when a pair of skis appeared between her legs and a man crashed into her back. Her attorneys also allege that video footage and a social media post which support her account have "disappeared".

Craig Ramon, an acquaintance of Sanderson, was the first witness to testify in the trial. He claimed that he heard a scream and saw Paltrow "slam into the back of Terry".

The actress and her children, Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, are expected to give evidence during the trial, which is scheduled to last up to eight days.

Sanderson is seeking $300,000 (£245,000) in damages, while Paltrow's counterclaim requests legal fees and $1 (81p) in damages.