PARK CITY, Utah — The retired optometrist suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a ski accident that he claims left him with permanent brain damage emailed his daughters the day of the crash to say, “I’m famous,” the actress’s attorney said in his opening statement Tuesday.
Dr. Terry Sanderson, 76, sent the missive just hours after he claims Paltrow, 50, ran into him on a ski slope at Deer Valley Resort on Feb. 26, 2016, and fled, her attorney, Steve Owens, told jurors in Park City court.
Sanderson’s daughter replied that she couldn’t believe “[the crash] was caught on GoPro,” Owens said. The alleged GoPro footage of the crash, the attorney pointed out, has never been recovered.
Sanderson, Owens said on the first day of trial, became “obsessed” with suing Paltrow after he realized she was a famous actress.
The doctor’s lawyers, however, argued he suffered mental and physical anguish following the accident — impacting the relationship he was pursuing with a Utah woman at the time.
“He had no joy left in his life. He pushed me away,” testified Karlene Davidson, who dated Sanderson at the time of the accident.
The duo began their courtship — which was filled with traveling and partying — 18 months before the accident, she recounted. But the relationship fizzled out six months after Paltrow allegedly plowed into Sanderson.
Davidson said Sanderson became angry and distant after the ski accident.
When asked if she felt the accident caused the end of the relationship, Davidson said she hadn’t at the time.
“Now looking back and seeing that perhaps it was a brain injury, if perhaps there were other things going on? I would say so now. Yeah,” she said on the stand.
The former Army eye doctor is seeking $300,000 in damages from Paltrow in his suit accusing her of negligence. The Oscar-winning actress countersued, but is requesting a paltry $1 in damages and for the plaintiff to pay her legal fees.
Paltrow’s version of events — that Sanderson was the one who allegedly crashed into her — will be supported by testimony from her teenage children, Apple and Moses Martin, and her now-husband, Brad Falchuk, the attorney said.
“This is not a hit-and-run,” the Salt Lake City-based attorney told the court of the accident, which Sanderson claims left him with broken ribs and a concussion that led to permanent brain damage.
Apple, 18, and Moses, 16, did not witness the crash, but were on the ski slopes with their mother and several ski instructors when the accident took place, Owens said.
Falchuk, who was dating the Goop founder at the time, was also present.
Sources close to Paltrow previously told The Post that the Hollywood heavyweight will take the stand in her own defense.
During his opening statement, Owens also slammed as “offensive” and “utter BS” allegations made earlier Tuesday by Sanderson’s attorney that the “reckless” and “distracted” star left the scene of the collision.
Owens claimed that Sanderson had a history of neurological problems, and discouraged the jury from reaching a verdict based on sympathy for the plaintiff’s condition.
To drive his point home, Owens opened and concluded his statements by showing the courtroom an image of Lady Justice, the allegorical figure pictured blindfolded while holding scales.
Paltrow, who appeared in court on Tuesday, sat mostly expressionless while Owens spoke. When entering and exiting the courtroom, the famous blonde blocked her face with a blue notebook.
