Sunshine Village Cleared on Appeal in Ski Resort Worker’s Death

Calgary (AB), Canada – A Canadian appeals court judge on Wednesday overturned the 2009 conviction of Sunshine Village Ski Resort near Banff, Alberta, in the 2004 death of a ski lift worker.nSunshine Village employee Jan-Karl Stunt, 25, was killed when a piece of metal struck his head as the chair in which he was riding collided with a lift terminal. A lower court in Banff had found Sunshine Village negligent under Canada’s the Occupational Health and Safety Act and ordered the resort to pay a C$5,000 fine and fund a C$250,000 scholarship in ski resort management at Selkirk College in British Columbia.

On Wednesday, Justice Suzanne Bensler ruled that the accident was “bizarre and unforeseeable,” and that while the momentary inattentiveness of two fellow employees contributed to Stunt’s death, Sunshine Village is “not required to achieve a standard of perfection.”

With Sunshine Village prevailing on appeal, resort officials have indicated that the Selkirk College scholarship mandated by the lower court judge will not be funded.

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Information from the Calgary Herald www.calgaryherald.com

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