Las Vegas family, resort settle avalanche death suit
The family of a teenage boy killed in a 2005 avalanche on Mount Charleston recently settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort and others.
The lawsuit, brought by the family of 13-year-old Allen Brett Hutchison, accused the resort of ignoring warnings of the danger of an avalanche on the day Hutchison was killed.
An avalanche swept Hutchison off a ski lift on Jan. 9, 2005, and buried him under two to four feet of snow. Rescue crews searched for Hutchison for more than six hours before they recovered his body. He died from asphyxia.
A federal investigation into the avalanche later found multiple safety violations at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort, including failure to comply with its own avalanche control plan on the day Hutchison was killed.
Details of the June settlement between Hutchison's family and the defendants remain confidential. But both sides confirmed that a settlement was reached, effectively bringing an end to the lawsuit. The case was scheduled to go to trial in April 2010.
"Brett will always be in our thoughts and prayers," said Robert Murdock, an attorney representing the Hutchisons.
The Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort did not respond to calls for comment Monday. But representatives of the company previously said that the resort undertook new safety measures after Hutchison's death, including the hiring of two safety experts to assess how to control avalanches. It also implemented a weather reporting station at the top of the chair lift Hutchison was riding at the time of the avalanche.
The resort also now uses a 1943 Army howitzer to induce avalanches as a means to control them.
The Hutchisons sued the resort in early 2006. The lawsuit accuses the resort of ignoring avalanche warnings in order to save money and sought more than $70,000 in damages.
"The matter has been satisfactorily resolved," said Lee Roberts, an attorney representing the resort and other defendants, including Lee Canyon Ski Lifts, Lee Canyon Ski Corp. and several employees of the resort.
Hutchison, known as Brett, was a beloved eighth-grader at Rogich Middle School. He was known for his talent on the slopes and golf course as well as in the classroom.
His family had moved to Las Vegas from Northern California about two years before his death.
On the day of the incident, he had gone snowboarding at Mount Charleston with his mother and 15-year-old sister.
He boarded a ski lift about 3 p.m. A 10- to 20-foot wave of snow swept over Hutchison and buried him. His sister was not with him at the time.
The U.S. Forest Service investigated Hutchison's death and safety protocols on the mountain in the aftermath of the fatality. It found that the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort didn't deter skiers from entering the avalanche area, as required by emergency procedures.
Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
