Gwyneth Paltrow was “distracted” when she crashed into a doctor while skiing, leaving him with brain damage and broken ribs, a court has heard.

The Oscar-winning actress faces trial in a Utah court in a lawsuit filed 76-year-old retired optometrist Terry Sanderson, who says Paltrow violently crashed into him in 2016 while skiing in an upscale resort.

Lawyers for Mr Sanderson said Paltrow, 50, was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort.

“Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control,” they claim in the lawsuit, “knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries. Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured”.

“Distracted skiers cause crashes,” Mr Sanderson’s lawyer Lawrence Buhler told the court on Tuesday (local time).

“She knew that skiing that way, blindly skiing down a mountain while looking up and to the side was reckless, she knew that continuing to ski that way … she would crash into somebody below her.”

Mr Buhler said Paltrow crashed into Sanderson and simply skied away, leaving him lying unconscious without calling for help or checking on him.

“Before this crash Terry was a charming outgoing gregarious person,” Mr Buhler said.

“He was living a full life, travelling the world, doing everything possible to enjoy his life and guard his health. But after the crash he’s no longer charming.”

Paltrow has countersued, with her lawyer claiming the crash was Mr Sanderson’s fault and calling his version of events “utter BS”.

Lawyer Steve Owens told the jury that Paltrow had just begun to make her way down the slope when a pair of skis suddenly appeared between her legs and a man collided into her back.

He said Paltrow initially feared she had been assaulted and was so shaken by the incident she chose not to ski for the rest of the day.

“She may have sworn at him. It rattled her and it physically hurt her,” he said.

Mr Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $US300,000 ($448,000) – claiming the Deer Valley accident was a result of negligence, and left him with physical injuries and emotional distress.

He has also accused Deer Valley and its employees of engaging in a “cover up” by not providing complete information on incident reports and not following resort safety policies.

After his initial lawsuit seeking $US3.1 million ($4.6 million) was dropped, Mr Sanderson amended the complaint and he is now seeking $US300,000.

Paltrow – the Oscar-winning actress-turned-lifestyle-blogger known for her roles in Shakespeare in Love and Marvel’s Iron Man movies – filed a counterclaim in response, seeking legal fees and $US1 million ($1.5 million) in damages.

She, her husband Brad Falchuk and her two children with ex-husband Chris Martin – 18-year-old Apple and 16-year-old Moses – will all take the stand during the trial.

– with AAP