A Sisters man has filed a suit seeking more than $1.5 million, claiming he suffered serious injuries when a member of the ski patrol serving the Hoodoo ski area collided with him on the mountain.

Gary Oldham, 49, filed the suit in Deschutes County Circuit Court on Jan. 30, naming the ski resort and the Santiam Pass Ski Patrol as defendants.

Resort management and Oldham’s attorney, Rick Klingbeil of Portland, did not respond to requests for comment.

According to Oldham’s complaint, he was at Hoodoo on April 1, 2010, snowboarding on Over Easy, a beginners trail, and moving at “a walking pace.” An unidentified ski patroller — the patroller is referred to only as “John Doe” — came down the experts’ trail “Dive,” which crosses Over Easy, and hit Oldham.

As detailed in the complaint, Oldham’s injuries include two separate fractures in his neck and upper back, damage to disc nerves and connective tissue in the spine and back, and a closed head injury. The head injury has caused “changes in cognitive abilities, equilibrium, mood, personality, impulse control, memory, reasoning, and disposition, and diminished ability to earn wages and engage in recreational and personal pursuits.”

The complaint alleges that “Slow Ski Area” signs were posted above the intersection of Over Easy and Dive, and that the ski patroller was skiing at an unreasonably high speed. The patroller was looking uphill as he approached Oldham, the complaint states, and did not slow, swerve or make any effort to avoid hitting Oldham.

Oldham’s complaint does not indicate if the unnamed patroller stopped after the collision, or if Oldham received medical treatment from the ski patrol following the incident.

The suit, which describes Oldham’s injuries as “permanent, progressive, and partially yet substantially disabling,” suggests he will require future medical care and rehabilitation.

Documents filed in the case claim Oldham has lost $180,000 in earnings as a result of his injuries and anticipates the loss of up to $950,000 more. The value of his medical costs to date is set at $240,000, with an anticipated $150,000 in future costs. Oldham’s wife, Lora Oldham, claims a loss of $7,000 due to stress and anxiety associated with the loss of a substantial part of her husband’s ability to help with family needs and obligations.

Gary Olham and Lora Oldham are both seeking unspecified noneconomic damages, in an amount to be determined at trial.

A pretrial hearing has been scheduled for May.