Karl Stunt, 25, died of massive head injuries after being injured working on a skilift at Sunshine Village in 2004. (Facebook)

Sunshine Village is not at fault for the accidental death of one of its ski resort workers in 2004, an Alberta court has ruled.

Maintenance worker Karl Stunt, 25, died of massive head injuries after he was hit by a metal bar while working on a chairlift at the Banff resort.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Suzanne Bensler overturned a 2009 decision by a lower court that found the ski resort failed to protect Stunt's health and safety.

Bensler said Sunshine Village could not be held accountable for a "bizarre and unforeseeable" incident in a written ruling released Wednesday, throwing out the conviction under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

She also pointed out that Stunt and two workers who were with him knew about proper procedures, and the resort could not be held liable for their "momentary inattentiveness" that led to the man's death.

A provincial court judge had ordered Sunshine Village to pay a $5,000 fine and establish a $250,000 scholarship for ski hill operations in Stunt's name at a B.C. college.

With Wednesday's ruling, the scholarship will no longer go ahead, said Doug Firby, a spokesman for Sunshine Village.

"It was a tragic accident. It was extremely unfortunate and in the words of the judge, kind of a bizarre set of circumstances that led to it but we felt all along that it was an accident and that's really what's been affirmed in this decision," he told CBC News.