[Other Sport] Would you sue over Ryder Cup-style accident?

[Tooting Gull]

Looks like the woman who has tragically lost the sight of one eye after being hit by a shot from Koepka is going to sue the organisers. The player was clearly shaken up both at the time, and when he got the news yesterday.

But is this negligence or evidence of any wrongdoing by the organisers? Or just a very unfortunate accident with no one to blame? You'd have thought financially it wouldn't be difficult for Koepka and the event to cough up some money, as it will have badly affected her life.

But you also have to be aware of what could happen when you buy a ticket, and if you are in range keep some idea of where the ball could come. Same at the cricket albeit a bigger and more easily visible ball, if you ignore what is happening on the pitch completely, that ball can do a lot of damage.

Feel very bad for the victim here, just not sure the organisers could have done much different.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Looks like the woman who has tragically lost the sight of one eye after being hit by a shot from Koepka is going to sue the organisers. The player was clearly shaken up both at the time, and when he got the news yesterday.

But is this negligence or evidence of any wrongdoing by the organisers? Or just a very unfortunate accident with no one to blame? You'd have thought financially it wouldn't be difficult for Koepka and the event to cough up some money, as it will have badly affected her life.

But you also have to be aware of what could happen when you buy a ticket, and if you are in range keep some idea of where the ball could come. Same at the cricket albeit a bigger and more easily visible ball, if you ignore what is happening on the pitch completely, that ball can do a lot of damage.

Feel very bad for the victim here, just not sure the organisers could have done much different.

I don’t think there is necessarily any negligence on the part of the organisers, but I’d still be seeking compensation in her shoes. It’s a life changing injury and ther is enough money (and risk) involved in the event, that I’d expect the organisers to have pretty comprehensive insurance in place.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Yes, as you say, on the face of it it doesn't look like any more than just a tragic accident, and not a lot that the organisers could do to prevent it.

Having said that, if it was me who had lost the use of an eye because of it, then maybe l would be tempted to try to sue, who nows? Either way, I'm sure the insurance companies are prepared for such an incident.

 

[dazzer6666]

Doubt she'll need to sue - they'll settle before it gets to that point and as @HKFC says almost certainly covered by insurance. All very unfortunate

Might make a lot of casual/regular golfers consider whether they're taking a risk though - can get £5m of PL cover for about £25 a year.

 

[Tooting Gull]

From the outside as no sports law expert, I would have thought the only possible 'negligence' might be if it was expected/normal for warnings to be shouted if a ball was off line by player and/or marshalls. But we all saw the atmosphere, there's no guarantee you would have heard it anyway.

 

[KZNSeagull]

There has become a trend in professional golf where shouting fore and therefore alerting people to possible danger seems to be less prevalent than it used to be. The reason being that if the ball hits the crowd, it stops it going into further trouble. If I were organising tournaments with lots of spectators, I would ensure that warnings were made compulsory as it is impossible for everyone in the crowd to see where a ball is heading. I didn't see this incident so am not sure if warnings were given or not.

I wouldn't sue though.

 

[Gazwag]

1 - I think she is from overseas from when I read about this yesterday, did she not get travel insurance

2 - The match ticket should give a warning of balls, bit like football tickets do (or at least I think they do)

3 - The organisers should have notices in place to beware golf balls

4 - Shouting FORE surely can't be a legal requirement, especially when hitting a ball 300 yards away from its landing point - do cricketers shout a warning when they hit a six into the crowd. What happens if a spectator is deaf.

 

[dazzer6666]

There has become a trend in professional golf where shouting fore and therefore alerting people to possible danger seems to be less prevalent than it used to be. The reason being that if the ball hits the crowd, it stops it going into further trouble. If I were organising tournaments with lots of spectators, I would ensure that warnings were made compulsory as it is impossible for everyone in the crowd to see where a ball is heading. I didn't see this incident so am not sure if warnings were given or not.

I wouldn't sue though.

Definitely a few loud warning shouts, whether they would have been heard c250 yards away with crowd chatter etc is another question..........

https://twitter.com/JosAl45444022/status/1047057410777583617

 

[dazzer6666]

Interesting read here too.......

https://www.si.com/golf/2018/10/02/ryder-cup-spectator-brooks-koepka-eye-injury-lawsuit

 

[beorhthelm]

non-story/fake news. "person to submit insurance claim for injury" isnt such an interested headline, that what's happening. it'll be come a legal dispute if she claims some ridiculous amount that the insurers object to.

 

[studio150]

2 - The match ticket should give a warning of balls, bit like football tickets do (or at least I think they do)
.

But can you exclude death or injury arising due to negligence under contract terms in France?

 

[Paul Reids Sock]

It does seem strange to me that this is even possible.

What has happened is terrible and losing the sight in one eye can have a bad impact. My mum is blind in one eye and always has been. She can drive, work and it has had zero impact on her life. Happening mid life I am sure will be a lot more difficult to get used to, I couldn't see out of one eye for 3 days due to a football injury and it was a pain in the arse.

Anyway, surely these places have indemnity notices up and it is expected that if you are going to the golf then there is the risk of golf balls flying around. It will be interesting to see how far it goes and whether there are any recommendations for improving safety implemented as a knee jerk reaction

 

[luppers]

It does seem strange to me that this is even possible.

What has happened is terrible and losing the sight in one eye can have a bad impact. My mum is blind in one eye and always has been. She can drive, work and it has had zero impact on her life. Happening mid life I am sure will be a lot more difficult to get used to, I couldn't see out of one eye for 3 days due to a football injury and it was a pain in the arse.

Anyway, surely these places have indemnity notices up and it is expected that if you are going to the golf then there is the risk of golf balls flying around. It will be interesting to see how far it goes and whether there are any recommendations for improving safety implemented as a knee jerk reaction

Blimey your eye is in a funny place

 

[Gazwag]

But can you exclude death or injury arising due to negligence under contract terms in France?

The argument is what negligence - if the organisers put spectators at risk then probably. Had she been hit right up by the tee then maybe the organisers need to prove they had taken steps to ensure a spectator wasn't hit by a miss-hit ball. if she was 250-300 yards away then there is quite a lot of act of god at work once you factor in the wind.

 

[clippedgull]

I’m sure the organisers/pro players would have some form of public liability insurance.

I read an article where it said she was only going to claim for her medical expenses which seems more than reasonable.

Just goes to show accidents can happen anywhere, anytime.

 

[Weststander]

It does seem strange to me that this is even possible.

What has happened is terrible and losing the sight in one eye can have a bad impact. My mum is blind in one eye and always has been. She can drive, work and it has had zero impact on her life. Happening mid life I am sure will be a lot more difficult to get used to, I couldn't see out of one eye for 3 days due to a football injury and it was a pain in the arse.

Anyway, surely these places have indemnity notices up and it is expected that if you are going to the golf then there is the risk of golf balls flying around. It will be interesting to see how far it goes and whether there are any recommendations for improving safety implemented as a knee jerk reaction

Apparently the legal disclaimer is on the back of every ticket.

 

[LlcoolJ]

Nasty incident but obviously just a freak accident. Can't see how it could have been avoided by the organisers as it was just bloody bad luck.

As others have said, surely with the huge amount of money washing around in golf (plus insurance policies that must be in place for such things), it'll be easy enough to give the woman appropriate compensation without her having to sue anyone.

Koepka seems like a nice guy and genuinely really upset about what's happened. He said he's tried to contact her already and will make sure he gets to speak to her soon as he wants to apologise personally etc.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

It does seem strange to me that this is even possible.

What has happened is terrible and losing the sight in one eye can have a bad impact. My mum is blind in one eye and always has been. She can drive, work and it has had zero impact on her life. Happening mid life I am sure will be a lot more difficult to get used to, I couldn't see out of one eye for 3 days due to a football injury and it was a pain in the arse.

Anyway, surely these places have indemnity notices up and it is expected that if you are going to the golf then there is the risk of golf balls flying around. It will be interesting to see how far it goes and whether there are any recommendations for improving safety implemented as a knee jerk reaction

I'm the same as your mum. I play all kinds of sports regularly, drive etc and live a normal life. But I imagine it will take some getting used to, especially if she has lost the actual eye. The biggest difference maker will be on her confidence though, I'd imagine. And if she likes 3D films, they're out.

As for the negligence aspect, they actually had spectators miles back from what I could tell, so his shot must've been miles wide, suggesting that they've done all they can really. You really have to pay attention to your surroundings on a golf course though - even at the highest level they're more than capable of slicing or pulling the ball a fair distance wide.

 

[B52]

Apart from moving spectators further back from fairways, greens etc. don't see what more organisers could do.

 

[Pavilionaire]

During the event I recall one pundit saying how impressed he was that on this course the spectators were further away from the fairways than normal and that in most big tournaments the crowd are nearer, resulting in the rough being trampled down and many balls striking people and therefore not disappearing out of bounds.

It's a tragic accident.