wyneth paltrow colliding with a man on a ski slope from behind and falling on top of him is the “only scenario” that would explain his injuries, a US court has heard.
Terry Sanderson provided “a pillow” for the Oscar-winning actress during the incident at the Deer Valley resort in Utah in 2016, the jurors were told.
The retired optometrist is suing Ms Paltrow over the crash, which left him with several broken ribs and a severe concussion.
Ms Paltrow has rejected the claim and is suing Mr Sanderson, claiming he caused the collision.
Both are expected to testify at trial on Friday.
On Thursday, jurors heard testimony from Dr Richard Boehne, who said Mr Sanderson’s injuries could only have been caused by a blow from behind.
“He was hit by someone from the side and from behind, keep in mind that person landed on him. People if you fall, you don’t get rib fractures…it takes something else,” he said.
“If you had to choose between Mr. Sanderson hitting Mrs. Paltrow or Mrs. Paltrow hitting Mr. Sanderson, you would have to choose Mrs. Paltrow hitting Mr. Sanderson from behind and falling on top of him to explain the broken ribs.”
“If you were to compare two scenarios… there is only one scenario that could exert enough force to break those ribs and that would be Mrs. Paltrow hitting Mr. Sanderson from behind and falling to the floor.
“Essentially, he was like a pillow, if you will.”
Dr. Boehne added that he had considered a “number of different scenarios” to reach his conclusion.
Earlier, the court heard testimony from Mr. Sanderson’s daughter, Polly Sanderson-Grasham.
Ms Sanderson-Grasham said her father was a “funny, gregarious” man prior to the incident, describing him as a “go-through” and a “genuine positive influence”, as well as an accomplished skier.
But she said seeing him at her own daughter’s graduation about three months after the skiing accident was like a “slap in the face.”
There is only one scenario that could exert enough force to break those ribs and that would be Mrs. Paltrow hitting Mr. Sanderson from behind and falling to the floor.
“I was like ‘wow’. There was a moment when I almost expected drool to come out of his mouth,” she said.
“He wasn’t engaged to anyone… that was my first slap in the face that something is terribly wrong.”
She added that her father was now “not seeing the forest for the trees” and was getting “stuck in the details”.
“He’s easily frustrated, he gets irritable, angry — I don’t remember him being an angry person, but he has a pretty short fuse these days,” she said.
“I think he’s just a little more cautious, not as confident — he’s in a really negative place and that’s hard for me as his daughter.”
Ms Sanderson-Grasham later got emotional and told the court: “I hope (my father) moves on. I hope we can put this very strange chapter behind us.
“We don’t always choose the doors we walk through, but we can choose how we walk through them. We have much healing to do.
Jurors also heard from neuropsychologist Dr Alina Fong, who said when she first met Mr Sanderson in 2017, he had “a host of” symptoms suggesting he had suffered a concussion.
Dr. Fong said there was “no evidence whatsoever” that Mr Sanderson was “faking” his injuries and that he had been “an ideal patient”.
The defense is seeking damages of at least $300,000 (£244,000), while Ms Paltrow’s counterclaim is one dollar.
The process, which takes place in Park CityUtah, continues.