Is a golf course responsible for my injury if I was hit by golf ball and my leg was broken?
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Is a golf course responsible for my injury if I was hit by golf ball and my leg was broken?
I live by 6th hole and was in my driveway when I was hit in the leg by a golf ball. After a week of waiting for it to get better I went to the ER and found that my leg
was broken. I contacted golf course just to try and get them to pay medical bill
since we are retired and insurance did not cover. They had a board meeting
without ever contacting me then called to say hat they are not responsible. It was
chamber of commerce tournament and I needed to contact them then find out
which golfer hit that ball. If they had spoken with me they would know I spoke to golfers and gave them their ball back so they know who they are. How did I get
assistance here?
Asked on October 13, 2018 under Personal Injury, Tennessee
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
No, they are not liable; even the golfer who hit you (if you can ever identify that person) is not liable unless you can show that the golfer did something inappropriately reckless, by trying to hit the ball off the course or aiming at your house.
Liability only comes from being "unreasonable careless." What is unreasonably careless is judged by context. Hitting a golfball with all your might from your suburbean driveway is unreasonably careless--there is a high probability of personal injury or property damage to your neighbors. But there is nothing unreasonably careless about hiting a golf ball on a golf course to play golf: that is doing the expected thing to play a legal sport in the appropriate, approved location. It's like how speeding on a city street is negligent; speeding on a racecourse is not. Punching a stranger in a bar gets you sued or arrested or both; punching someone in a sanctioned MMA fight does not. Etc. When someone is not unreasonably careless, there is no liability or responsibilty even if an injury ensues, the same way you would not be liable if while driving carefully and within the speed limit, a car suddenly backed out of a driveway and into your path, too close to stop: you were doing nothing wrong, so you are not liable.
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