Sued for being hit on the head

Anatom

I know this has come up previously with the case in Dublin where a man accidentally struck a lady on the clubhouse balcony, but I thought it was interesting that in this case, in Scotland, the victim sued the perpetrator directly - and won £10,000stg. There doesn't seem to be any mention of the club being responsible or covering insurance etc., which I thought was the first port of call for any claim of damages / injury..?

Perhaps someone could clarify? Could it happen here? I played with someone recently who nearly hit a woman who moved fairly suddenly into a bunker on the left hand side of the 18th fairway (she had obviously hit a bad shot from the 1st tee into it and when my partner was addressing his ball there was no sign of her at all - she just appeared as he struck the ball). My partner called out at least three times as his shot was heading towards her, but she didn't move. The ball landed about twenty feet away as it happened, but it could have been worse and I wonder what the situation would have been.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11625639/Golfer-must-pay-10000-to-man-hit-on-head-by-errant-slice.html

Golfer must pay £10,000 to man hit on head by errant 'slice’

When Stewart Muir, 45, shouted 'fore’ and put an arm up, two players took cover but the third did not and the ball struck him

11:58PM BST 22 May 2015

A golfer has been forced to pay £10,000 in damages to another player after hitting him with an errant tee shot, despite calling out “fore” after slicing the ball. Stewart Muir was told by a judge yesterday that his mi**** on the ninth hole of a Scottish golf course presented a “foreseeable” risk of striking another golfer.

John Ure was on the 10th fairway at Bellshill Golf Club, in Lanarkshire, when he sustained a head injury following the errant drive.

Mr Ure, 46, of Uddingston, Lanarkshire, raised an action seeking compensation against Mr Muir, 45, following the ­incident on March 9 in 2013.

Following a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh a judge ruled in his favour and accepted liability had been established. Lord Brailsford said that in the circumstances the risk of an errant shot creating a danger to a person in Mr Ure’s position was “reasonably foreseeable”.

One of Mr Muir’s playing party had already struck a drive which prompted a warning cry of “fore” before he teed off.

The judge said this should have alerted Muir that the group Mr Ure was playing in was in range of an errant drive.

“His shot was, on his own admission, a bad one,” said the judge.

The court heard that a study had shown that 92 per cent of golf shots fell within a 30 degree cone of the intended line but the shot played by Mr Muir fell into the eight per cent outside that group.

A golf expert who gave evidence said he considered there was “a material risk” of a bad or poorly struck shot from the ninth tee impinging on the 10th fairway.

Mr Muir told the court that he would not have played it if he considered there was a risk. He described the shot as “a slice” and said: “You just wouldn’t surmise your ball going that far right.”

Mr Muir, a warehouse worker, of ­Blantyre, said he had been a member at the Bellshill club since 2005.

He was playing the ninth hole with two others taking part in a sweep at the club. He told the court that another player in his group had already played “an errant shot” towards Mr Ure’s group on the 10th fairway, prompting a shout of “fore”.

He said the second player to tee off in his party hit his ball “straight down the middle”.

Mr Muir said he would normally hit a drive about 200 yards and was aiming to hit the middle of the fairway. But when he struck his shot he noticed “the ball was going out of control”.

He said he shouted “fore” and put an arm up. One of his playing partners also made a warning call. He said two players on the 10th took cover, but Mr Ure did not and the ball struck him.

Mr Muir was asked if he had thought about the people on the 10th fairway before he took his shot. He then replied: “I wouldn’t have thought of any problem arising ... I wouldn’t have surmised anything that far right that would create a problem.”

In the action it was said that Mr Ure suffered a head injury and was knocked to the ground. It was said he felt ­nauseous and was physically ill later that day and went to hospital. It was said that he suffered intermittent severe headaches and nausea and lost enthusiasm for playing the game.

slingerz

Anatom wrote: »

I know this has come up previously with the case in Dublin where a man accidentally struck a lady on the clubhouse balcony, but I thought it was interesting that in this case, in Scotland, the victim sued the perpetrator directly - and won £10,000stg. There doesn't seem to be any mention of the club being responsible or covering insurance etc., which I thought was the first port of call for any claim of damages / injury..?

Perhaps someone could clarify? Could it happen here? I played with someone recently who nearly hit a woman who moved fairly suddenly into a bunker on the left hand side of the 18th fairway (she had obviously hit a bad shot from the 1st tee into it and when my partner was addressing his ball there was no sign of her at all - she just appeared as he struck the ball). My partner called out at least three times as his shot was heading towards her, but she didn't move. The ball landed about twenty feet away as it happened, but it could have been worse and I wonder what the situation would have been.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11625639/Golfer-must-pay-10000-to-man-hit-on-head-by-errant-slice.html

Golfer must pay £10,000 to man hit on head by errant 'slice’

When Stewart Muir, 45, shouted 'fore’ and put an arm up, two players took cover but the third did not and the ball struck him

11:58PM BST 22 May 2015

A golfer has been forced to pay £10,000 in damages to another player after hitting him with an errant tee shot, despite calling out “fore” after slicing the ball. Stewart Muir was told by a judge yesterday that his mi**** on the ninth hole of a Scottish golf course presented a “foreseeable” risk of striking another golfer.

John Ure was on the 10th fairway at Bellshill Golf Club, in Lanarkshire, when he sustained a head injury following the errant drive.

Mr Ure, 46, of Uddingston, Lanarkshire, raised an action seeking compensation against Mr Muir, 45, following the ­incident on March 9 in 2013.

Following a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh a judge ruled in his favour and accepted liability had been established. Lord Brailsford said that in the circumstances the risk of an errant shot creating a danger to a person in Mr Ure’s position was “reasonably foreseeable”.

One of Mr Muir’s playing party had already struck a drive which prompted a warning cry of “fore” before he teed off.

The judge said this should have alerted Muir that the group Mr Ure was playing in was in range of an errant drive.

“His shot was, on his own admission, a bad one,” said the judge.

The court heard that a study had shown that 92 per cent of golf shots fell within a 30 degree cone of the intended line but the shot played by Mr Muir fell into the eight per cent outside that group.

A golf expert who gave evidence said he considered there was “a material risk” of a bad or poorly struck shot from the ninth tee impinging on the 10th fairway.

Mr Muir told the court that he would not have played it if he considered there was a risk. He described the shot as “a slice” and said: “You just wouldn’t surmise your ball going that far right.”

Mr Muir, a warehouse worker, of ­Blantyre, said he had been a member at the Bellshill club since 2005.

He was playing the ninth hole with two others taking part in a sweep at the club. He told the court that another player in his group had already played “an errant shot” towards Mr Ure’s group on the 10th fairway, prompting a shout of “fore”.

He said the second player to tee off in his party hit his ball “straight down the middle”.

Mr Muir said he would normally hit a drive about 200 yards and was aiming to hit the middle of the fairway. But when he struck his shot he noticed “the ball was going out of control”.

He said he shouted “fore” and put an arm up. One of his playing partners also made a warning call. He said two players on the 10th took cover, but Mr Ure did not and the ball struck him.

Mr Muir was asked if he had thought about the people on the 10th fairway before he took his shot. He then replied: “I wouldn’t have thought of any problem arising ... I wouldn’t have surmised anything that far right that would create a problem.”

In the action it was said that Mr Ure suffered a head injury and was knocked to the ground. It was said he felt ­nauseous and was physically ill later that day and went to hospital. It was said that he suffered intermittent severe headaches and nausea and lost enthusiasm for playing the game.

The bit in bold gets to me. He knew playing the game first day there was a chance of getting hit.

As far as im concerned, a decent Fore shout where 2 of his partners ducked for cover and he didnt means its his own fault

traprunner

There was this case in 1998 at Greenore Golf Club. It was settled via insurance though. House insurance covered the golfers portion of the claim. http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/salutary-lesson-for-all-in-nearfatal-golf-swing-26099899.html

slave1

Comparison to a case in another legal territory is meaningless

spacecoyote

Seems farcical. Are we going to get to a stage where you can't tee off if there are people on a fairway running parallel to the hole you are playing. Would take an age to play a round of golf if you had to make sure that there was no-one in an arc within 200-250 yards in any direction forward of the tee box

Deise Vu

As a matter of interest does anyone know where you can get specific golf cover outside of your club. I am not happy with the way my club handles insurance. It is not part of the fee so you pay an extra €20 but I have never seen any paperwork.

valoren

Unbelievable. You should be absolved once you shout Fore. It's there for a reason.

Part of the etiquette of the game is to shout fore for an errant shot that may hit somebody obviously.

But it's also part of the eiquette to defend yourself no matter where you hear a Fore shout coming from i.e. protect your head from an impact.

2 of the 3 defended themselves. But the one who didn't get's £10k?

Will people be doing a 'Niall Quinn'* every time they hear a Fore! in future in the hope they get something similar?

* leaping up for a header.

Aesop

spacecoyote wrote: »

Seems farcical. Are we going to get to a stage where you can't tee off if there are people on a fairway running parallel to the hole you are playing.

I think it will get to a stage where you can't tee off unless you have personal liability insurance. Just as farcical IMO.

Deagol

Could people not just like.....wear a hat? I'm not being a smart ass but it occurs to me that if the golf club puts up a rule saying headgear must be worn and people don't then no liability?

Other sports were there's a reasonable likelihood of getting a serious head injury, there are rules to say you must wear protective gear. I've seen lads on building sites wear what look like baseball caps that have a protective layer in them so they don't have to look like a hurling helmet

slingerz

Deagol wrote: »

Could people not just like.....wear a hat? I'm not being a smart ass but it occurs to me that if the golf club puts up a rule saying headgear must be worn and people don't then no liability?

Other sports were there's a reasonable likelihood of getting a serious head injury, there are rules to say you must wear protective gear. I've seen lads on building sites wear what look like baseball caps that have a protective layer in them so they don't have to look like a hurling helmet

wouldnt have saved the guy in the OP as he was hit in the eye though.

Manach

Interesting judgment in that in most Tort type cases there is a measure of weighing up the applicant's degree of responsbility and conduct. This allows the award to be reduced. Given the section Slingerz emboldened, it would be interesting to see how this is handled on appeal.

cairny

Manach wrote: »

Interesting judgment in that in most Tort type cases there is a measure of weighing up the applicant's degree of responsbility and conduct. This allows the award to be reduced. Given the section Slingerz emboldened, it would be interesting to see how this is handled on appeal.

That's called contributory negligence, no real chance of it applying in this type of case, all he has to say is he didn't hear the call and that's the end of it. Doubt very much if it will be appealed, the award isn't high enough to make it cost effective.

Most of us would be covered under our house insurance policies.

HighLine

Manach wrote: »

Interesting judgment in that in most Tort type cases there is a measure of weighing up the applicant's degree of responsbility and conduct. This allows the award to be reduced. Given the section Slingerz emboldened, it would be interesting to see how this is handled on appeal.

Don't forget that this is Scottish jurisdiction which has a completely different legal system to the rest of the UK and Ireland, US etc.

Key fact in the above case was the defendant's playing partner hitting before him who came close to hitting the same group. Had he hit the plaintiff and the same "fore" shouts were issued, there would be no liability imposed.

Uncle Ben

As an aside, if you're a member of the club and playing a round but NOT on the timesheet are you covered if such an incident arose.

We had this discussion in the club. Some people are under the impression that you can just go out and hit balls whilst others believe all members must be on time sheets at all times. All information welcome.

Montgolfier

Poor course layout could be used as a defence. Maybe clubs should erect warning signs in danger zones. As for the case I suppose somebody has to pay for medical bills and loss of earnings.
I would have thought gui insurance included in your membership fee would cover that, am I wrong?