RedactedNarrative: On Friday, July 8, 2016 at approximately 10:00am, vessel 1 was on Belews Lake in Mt Carmel Cove. This portion of the lake is in Stokes County, NC.  The operator was towing a skier at approximately 32 miles per hour.  The operator stated that conditions were great for water skiing and this was a common practice that the couple participated in numerous times a week.  
  
  The water skier was practicing slalom skiing and was cutting back across the vessel's wake at the time of the accident.  The victim estimated his personal speed to be approximately 45-50mph and that the very front of his water ski dipped into the water as he crossed the vessels wake.  
  
  Victim lost his balance and fell sideways into the water.  The breath was knocked out of him and he immediately felt pain in his lower chest.  He was wearing a coast guard approved life jacket in which he later stated was “life saving”.  A few minutes after catching his breath from the impact, Victim tried to ski again but was unsuccessful in his attempts because of the pain.  His wife had to assist him in getting back onboard the vessel.  The 2 occupants decided it would be best to get medical treatment at this time.  Victim was transported by his wife to an urgent care facility where he was given X-rays of his chest.  The doctors at Forsyth Medical called the urgent care upon reviewing the results and stated that the X-Ray revealed a couple rib fractures as well as a punctured and collapsed lung (pneumothorax).  
  
  The victim was transferred immediately to Forsyth Medical center in Winston Salem, NC.  He was given numerous X-rays and was released on Wednesday July 13, 2016 after doctors determined that his lung was healed and was inflating sufficiently on its own.  This incident is classified as a skier mishap and the injuries were caused by the skier's impact with the water. There was no alcohol on board and all safety equipment required was immediately available.