Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash experience: After jury hears statements from actress’ children, husband can testify

Park City, Utah – Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorneys are expected to continue to rely mostly on experts for their defense on Wednesday, the seventh day of the trial over her 2016 skiing collision with a 76-year-old retired ophthalmologist.

The judge presiding over the trial in Park City has made it clear that he wants Paltrow’s defense team to finish their case by Thursday noon — in order to give the jury enough time to deliberate and reach a consensus.

Terry Sanderson, the Utah man suing Paltrow, is asking for more than $300,000, saying Paltrow’s recklessness on the slope caused the accident, leaving him with four broken ribs and years of post-concussion symptoms including confusion, memory loss and irritability. Paltrow contested a token $1 and attorney fees, alleging that Sanderson swerved into her from behind.

In the second week of the trial both sides evidently spared little expense in ensuring that a list of expert witnesses was on call in case of need. Amid severe time constraints, many witnesses testified for longer than expected.

Paltrow’s attorneys repeatedly asked Judge Kent Holmberg to clarify the eight-day trial schedule. They reversed their plans to question Sanderson in order to keep time on the clock for the four expert witnesses who said they located themselves at a nearby hotel on Tuesday.

Just like Sanderson’s attorney, Paltrow’s legal team tries to cram all the testimonials from family members, doctors, and an accident reconstruction expert into four days. They said on Tuesday they planned to call four additional experts to testify, but left the door open for contacting Paltrow or Brad Falchuk, her TV producer husband.

SEE MORE: Gwyneth Paltrow Trial: What You Need to Know About Alleged Ski Hitting, Terry Sanderson Claims

Holmberg gave Sanderson’s team the same amount of time to make its case.

Last week, Paltrow took the stand, insisting the ski crash wasn’t her fault. Her senior counsel Steve Owens said earlier in the week that he plans to call Paltrow’s teenage children — 16-year-old Moses and 18-year-old Apple — to the witness stand. But since Sanderson’s testimony extended into Monday, Paltrow’s legal team has read statements from her two teenage children for the record, rather than calling them to the stand to testify.

For the past two days, Paltrow’s defense team has relied primarily on expert witnesses, yet it did read statements from Paltrow’s children into the record on Tuesday. They attempted to attract the jury’s attention by running several high-definition animations while their witnesses—including an impact expert, biomedical engineer, doctor, and ski instructor—testified.

Animation is not included as trial evidence. However, Sanderson’s attorneys objected to their inclusion, arguing that Paltrow’s team was using the animation to mislead the jury.

Although the trial intrigued spectators around the world who consumed videos that circulated as memes on social media, it tested the jury, whose eight members gradually sank into their seats during hours of expert testimony.

After both sides make closing arguments on Thursday, the jury will likely make its decision later that day or on Friday.