Teacher Sues After Child’s Ski Blade Slices Face During Ski Trip

Louise Timbrell, a 42-year-old teacher in Ackleton, Shropshire, is now suing the parents of a child that allegedly hit her in the face with a blade during a ski trip, scarring her for life, according to the Daily Mail.

Two years ago, Timbrell was enjoying the holidays with her family in Morillon resort in the French Alps. Her 43-year-old husband, Andy, and her two children — Archie, 12, and 16-year-old Darcy – went on a ski trip, but it suddenly turned tragic when Timbrell was hit with a blade.

The teacher was reportedly standing on the busy slopes, letting people pass her by as she watched her two children ski in front of her. Within minutes, she recalls laying on the snow in agony, going in and out of consciousness as her children hovered over her, screaming and crying.

It was alleged that a 12-year-old girl passing by, slung a pair of skis and the blade accidentally hit the teacher in the face, severely cutting her from the cheek to her lip.

“I was in a state of shock but in hindsight, I am so thankful I had my sunglasses on, otherwise the skis could have cut my eye and it would have been a lot more serious,” Timbrell stated.

A rescue team rushed to Timbrell’s aide, but they soon realized that there was nothing they could do. The teacher was rushed to the Sallanches Hospital, 40 minutes away, where doctors informed her that the blade severed her “upper lip muscle through the inner lip, leaving a hole into the gum.”

Ten hours after being admitted to the hospital, Timbrell was discharged and she and her family had to end the ski trip two days early.

When the family returned home, Timbrell visited a maxillofacial specialist at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Shropshire – that’s when she looked at herself in the mirror for the first time since the skip trip accident.

“I was absolutely heart-broken. It was the first time I’d seen my injuries and I looked such a mess,” she said. “The cut was across my right cheek and down to my lip and I had a black eye. I couldn’t believe what I looked like.”

Timbrell was told that there may be permanent scarring to her face, and after two years, the scar has healed but it is still visible. She went on to say that she is unable to “drink out of a bottle or put on lip liner because of the new shape of her lips and cheek.”

The ski trip accident also left the teacher unable to walk properly and she now drools while speaking.

She claims that she was “diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by a therapist and struggles to talk about her ordeal.”

Mum-of-two is scarred for life on half-term ski trip. On @DailyMirror https://t.co/TBR0L0dfQR

— PA Real Life (@PA_Real_Life) February 16, 2017

Since Timbrell was a child, she has enjoyed going to the slopes, but since the accident, she says she is terrified of returning for another ski trip.

“I get flashbacks and have nightmares. Just looking at my face is a reminder every day of what happened to me. The accident has dramatically changed my life. I am terrified of going skiing again, something that has been a tradition for me and my family for a long time.”

The aftermath of the ski trip prompted Timbrell to take legal action. She is now working with attorneys at the Irwin Mitchell law firm in a bid to sue the child’s family, who lives in France.

“Cases like Louise’s show that even if you’re a competent skier, accidents on the slopes can still happen if other skiers on the slopes do not ski safely,” Victoria Pegg, an international serious injury specialist at Irwin Mitchell law firm, said.

“What is important for Louise now is to rehabilitate after her accident, where she suffered physical and emotional scarring that is still to this day affecting how she works.”

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