Sledding Accidents

Sledding is an inherently joyful activity. It is what kids do on snow days instead of going to school, and it is what adults do on snow days instead of adulting. A joyful day of sledding turned tragic in Abbeville County after Winter Storm Fern dumped more snow on South Carolina than the Palmetto State had seen in a long time. Christopher O`Quinn and his three children were sledding on the family’s land in rural Abbeville County, and Christopher continued sledding even after his children went back inside. While he was sledding alone, a utility terrain vehicle (UTV) struck his sled, killing him. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene of the accident. He was 36 years old. His surviving relatives include his wife Jordan, his three children under the age of eight, and his sister, among other family members. The legal implications of sledding accidents where someone dies or suffers serious injuries vary according to the circumstances of the accident. If you got injured in a sledding accident, contact a Columbia personal injury lawyer.

Who Is Legally Responsible for Sledding Accidents in South Carolina?

Most sledding accidents are not due to negligence, unless you are sledding somewhere that it is patently unsafe to sled, such as on or directly uphill from a road open to vehicular traffic. If a car or other motor vehicle collides with a sled, the question of liability has to do with which of the vehicles, if either, had the right to be in the place where the accident happened. If a car strikes a sled, even if the sled slides onto a road or a driveway, the driver of the car will likely bear most of the fault, because motorists must always be on the alert for unexpected obstacles entering the road, be they pedestrians, bicycles, deer, flying debris, or anything else. The sledders may bear some responsibility, too, if they were sledding near the road, instead of in a safer location such as a park.

The most obvious cases of negligence are those where a car attempts to tow a sled. Recently, several people have died or suffered catastrophic injuries while riding on purpose built or improvised sleds towed behind cars; a popular challenge on social media has people riding on overturned coffee tables towed by cars. In some cases, the drivers have gotten criminal charges for engaging in such dangerous stunts.

Premises liability laws do not normally apply in sledding accidents. When people sled on public land, or even on private land where they do not have to pay admission to sled, recreational land use statutes protect the landowners from premises liability claims. If people have paid to sled at a snowboarding resort or similar venue, then the business operator could be liable for accidental injuries.

Let Us Help You Today

The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you get justice after a sledding accident.  Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.

Sources:

live5news.com/2026/02/04/father-3-killed-sledding-accident-involving-utv-officials-say/

msn.com/en-us/news/crime/your-dad-is-in-heaven-now-father-of-three-killed-in-snow-day-sledding-accident-in-south-carolina/ar-AA1VOusa