Tree well lawsuit goes to trial at end of year
A lawsuit involving a 2010 tree well death at Whitefish Mountain Resort is scheduled to be heard by a jury this November — nearly five years after the accident occurred.
The family of Niclas Waschle, the 16-year-old exchange student from Germany who died after falling head first into a tree well, sued the ski area in December of 2013, along with his host family from Columbia Falls, and the company that coordinated his exchange.
An eight-member jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 30 at the U.S. District Court in Missoula.
Waschle’s parents, Patricia Birkhold-Waschle and Raimund Waschle, are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. They are represented by Great Falls attorney Steven Johnson.
Defendants are Whitefish Mountain Resort, World Experience Teenage Student Exchange and Columbia Falls residents Fred and Lynne Vanhorn.
The ski resort is represented by Kalispell attorney Mikel Moore. Missoula attorneys Mark Williams and Susan Miltko are representing the Vanhorns.
Waschle was skiing Dec. 29, 2010 near T-Bar 2 at Whitefish Mountain Resort when he fell head first into a tree well — an open pit at the base of an evergreen tree that grows deeper as the snowpack around the tree rises.
He was found and extricated by two other skiers who noticed his skis sticking out of the snow. A nurse nearby performed CPR until ski patrol arrived.
Waschle died three days later at Kalispell Regional Medical Center after he was removed from life support. Doctors declared Waschle brain dead as the result of asphyxiation and suffocation.
The lawsuit alleges the area where Waschle was skiing wasn’t restricted or blocked off in any way, nor were any warning notices posted regarding the dangers of tree wells.
The complaint argues Whitefish Mountain Resort had the duty to mitigate or eliminate the danger of tree wells near T-bar 2, and that the resort knew of the risks.
The resort contends the lawsuit is groundless.
The complaint also alleges negligence on the part of Waschle’s host parents by exposing him to “unnecessary and unreasonably risky behavior,” and argues World Experiences should be held liable for their alleged negligence.