Widow blames ski firm over death of husband trapped for 16 hours

12 April 2012

The death of a solicitor whose body was trapped under snow for 16 hours could have been prevented if holiday representatives had acted more quickly, his widow claims.

Father-of-four Stephen Gladman, known by his middle name Martin, was on the third day of a family skiing holiday in France with his wife and sons when he died in February 2007.

The 47-year-old of Penn, Buckinghamshire, who was described as a competent skier, stumbled off-piste in poor visibility and fell into a hole, causing a mini-avalanche of snow to cascade in after him.

Marion Gladman, who had been taking skiing lessons along with her sons, raised the alarm after her husband failed to meet them at midday for lunch and could not be contacted on his mobile phone.

She called a holiday representative for Thomson Ski just under 90 minutes later, and found that the woman, named as Laura, was drinking in a bar at another resort.

All the company's representatives for the La Plagne resort had a day off that day, an inquest at Amersham coroner's court, Buckinghamshire, heard.

Mrs Gladman said: "I explained the situation and Laura tried to reassure me, and said Martin would be in a bar enjoying a drink or stuck on the other side of the mountain.

"Her advice was just to go out with the boys and not waste their afternoon. I remember her saying: 'Don't let it spoil the afternoon'."

Mrs Gladman, a nurse, was told her husband had probably lost his mobile phone, and was advised to call Laura again at 4.30pm.

When she did so, the piste patrol was contacted, but said they had no records of any injuries on the slopes that day.

The slopes could not be searched until the ski runs closed for the day.

It was only after Mr Gladman's ski pass records were examined that the search was narrowed to the Les Colosses area, where he had caught a chair lift at 9.41am. His body was found in a hole there, with his face and upper body covered with snow, at 2.30am the next morning.

Pathologists could not be certain if Mr Gladman, whose fingertips were blue and showing signs of frostbite, died from hypothermia, suffocation or both.

Mrs Gladman said her husband probably took a lesser-used path because of the number of ski school pupils using the other trail. Coroner Richard Hulett recorded a verdict of accidental death.Mrs Gladman, whose sons are now aged 10, 13, 15 and 18, is taking legal action against TUI UK, the parent company of Thomson Ski.

Solicitor Stephen Muscatt said: "Our concern about the incident is that when Mrs Gladman raised the alarm that her husband was missing, she wasn't taken seriously. The family's frustrations lie in that, had they acted, he might have been saved."

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