SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The son of former San Francisco mayor Joseph L. Alioto has filed a $10 million law suit claiming negligence on the part of state officials led to a ski resort accident that injured his daughter.
Michela Alioto, 12, suffered back and leg injuries when a chair lift derailed at the Heavenly Valley Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe April 5.
Two other people were seriously injured in the accident and another 14 skiers were hurt when the lift derailed, pitching some of them onto hard packed snow 50 feet beneath the lift.
The claim filed by Joseph M. Alioto with the state Board of Control last week will probably end up in court because of the amount of money involved and the complexity of the case, board official James Burton said Wednesday.
Alioto contends the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health 'intentionally and secretly' allowed the Ridge Lift at Heavenly Valley Ski Resort to remain open when inspectors knew it might derail.
He also charges that the state 'obstructed and frustrated' private efforts to investigate the accident.
The U.S. Forest Service reported last week that a support tower removed last summer from the Ridge Lift near where the accident occurred may have contributed to the derailment. The lift was approved by state inspectors despite tests in March indicating that it had excessive sway and bounce.
The suit, filed for Alioto by a San Francisco law firm, is the fourth and largest filed against the state by accident victims. Burton said the Board of Control probably will reject all four claims at a hearing next month, sending the matter to court for settlement.
The claim contends the state 'agreed and conspired' with resort officials to allow the lift to remain open through the end of the ski season, 'intentionally or negligently' issued a permit before checking modifications and failed to require proper safety equipment on the lift.
