Ryder Cup spectator blinded by golf ball

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andya700

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Last week on the opening day of the Ryder Cup golf tournament, a spectator was hit in the eye and blinded by a wayward drive. Now obviously this is a horrible thing to have happened to the lady, but it was an accident, and spectaors being hit by wayward shots is something quite common. The lady in question is now considering taking legal action against the organisers. If she does claim, then it would potentially cause a lot of problems for many sports events where "duty of care" and "health and safety" all have to be taken into account. I would have thought that the organisers of the event would have some public liability or other insurance in place to cover incidents such as these, or would spectators be seen to be "attending at their own risk"?
On a personal note, I think it would be a good gesture if the organisers paid the lady's medical bills.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/01/brooks-koepka-ryder-cup-spectator

Golfers in the past have been advised that they should take out insurance for this very type of incident.

https://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/news/why-is-it-essential-to-have-specialised-golf-insurance-4023
 
Sport like this should be attended at your own risk. End of. This blame and sue culture if f*****g up the world.

If I was a golfer, there's no way in hell I'd take out insurance to cover somebody that chooses to stand on my playing field where they know I'm going to be belting a small white ball towards them at speed.

The same goes for a Rally. Stand on the outside of a corner, there's a bloody good chance you're going to get run over so stand there by all means but don't blame the organiser when you are.
 
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Just shout "fore" after every shot regardless and save on the insurance premium :D
 
Personal risk I guess like cricket matches, lifes risky.
 
Just saw this on the BBC - you couldn't make it up!!!

This cracked me up - She also claims there was "no warning shout from the course official when the ball was heading towards the crowd".

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Why couldn't she look for herself? If you stand at a golf course you know that balls will be coming towards you so be vigilant! I really do hope that any action she takes is thrown out, otherwise it will open the floodgates.
 
andy700 said:
On a personal note, I think it would be a good gesture if the organisers paid the lady's medical bills.
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Why? It will lead to someone slipping over walking along the course trying to sue, or any form of injury at an event.

We will never remove accidents, although I would hardly call it risky, if you go to such an event you run the risk of something happening.
 
cambsno said:
Why? It will lead to someone slipping over walking along the course trying to sue, or any form of injury at an event.

We will never remove accidents, although I would hardly call it risky, if you go to such an event you run the risk of something happening.
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Which is why I don't agree with her trying to sue the organisers. I do think it would be a good gesture on their part to pay some of the costs towards her medical treatment as she has suffered a life changing injury.
 
j crossley said:
Did you actually read the article that you posted a link to?

The European Tour has now pledged “support for as long as necessary” and a Ryder Cup spokesperson said: “It is distressing to hear that someone might suffer long-term consequences from a ball strike.

“We have been in communication with the family involved, starting with the immediate on-course treatment and thereafter to provide support, helping with the logistics of repatriation, including providing a transfer for the family from Paris to Lyon. We will continue to offer support for as long as necessary.
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Thanks, the first article I read about this was from the Sun, so I had a quick look at the Guardian article and posted that as a link. I think that they have made a very fair offer there, after all it was an accident pure and simple.
 
ecoleman said:
The same goes for a Rally. Stand on the outside of a corner, there's a bloody good chance you're going to get run over so stand there by all means but don't blame the organiser when you are.
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Organisers of special stage rallies have to do a huge amount of work on spectator safety, there are a lot of regulations about what you can and cannot do, the governing body (MSA) runs seminars for officials to keep them up-to-date and so on. Even so, all the "motorsport is dangerous" disclaimers plastered to every piece of paperwork, marshall's tabard, sign etc in the world won't stop legal action or Nicola Sturgeon sticking her oar in (there's a name I never thought I'd hear at a motorsport meeting).

Ultimately it is impossible to stop a determined idiot finding their way through a forest to stand in a dangerous position on a corner, and some of the worst offenders are photographers (both amateur and "professional")
 
Oh my god you must help me I don't know what to do
Why so freaked out? Calm down and tell me what's wrong.
I must have hit the ball wrong it flew off the green and through the window of a bus hit the driver which caused a severe crash including multiple cars and lots of dead and injured oh my god its so awful I don't know what to do.
First of all you need to straighten that thump as I've told you before, then your feet needs to...................
 
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cambsno said:
Just saw this on the BBC - you couldn't make it up!!!

This cracked me up - She also claims there was "no warning shout from the course official when the ball was heading towards the crowd". etc.................

.
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Someone shouted "Watch out, keep your eye on that one".
 
Here we go, she is now planning legal action. Blaming everyone but herself. There are a lot of people round a fairway at these events and the officals wont know where the ball is going, how are they supposed to warn everyone in a matter of seconds... huge speakers every 100 yards at full power with warnings.

She is also claiming lack of safety warnings on tickets and venue...well, tickets include a warning and anyone with an ounce of common sense will know there is a risk of this happening. No different to those idiots who are surprised a cup of coffee contains very hot water!! No sympathy!
 
Understandably she is going to be feeling pretty emotional and physically in pain after what is a life changing event. She's is probably lashing out and blaming everyone else for what happened. Once she's had a chance to heal and reflect on what happened she may feel differently about taking legal action.
 
Years ago I used to go to motorcycle race meetings before they had catch fencing etc, the tickets and the grounds had a warning about motor racing being dangerous etc (and not just for the participants), you could get some great shots.
Dont go anymore.
A few years ago I was on holiday in France and a local village had a "race" meeting for really old cars, motorcycles and 3 wheelers. We sat on the straw bales that lined the street circuit fully aware that any one of them could career out of control into us, I got some great shots. I wonder if they can still do that nowdays.

Whilst it's a shame the lady got hit, my first thoughts were I wonder if she'll sue, I wonder if future events will be all fenced off.

Looks like the first thought has come about, I wonder if my second thought will too, shame if it does.
 
MatBin said:
Whilst it's a shame the lady got hit, my first thoughts were I wonder if she'll sue, I wonder if future events will be all fenced off.

Looks like the first thought has come about, I wonder if my second thought will too, shame if it does.
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Fencing wouldn’t have stopped her getting hit in this case though, the ball came from height. Unless you had fencing or netting going over the top of the spectators as well, it’s simply unworkable for golf.

This was a freak accident and of course I have sympathy for the woman too, but she must have known the risks without them being spelt out (which, even then, it apparently was in the t&c’s of the ticket booking). I think she’s simply milking the situation for as much compo as she can get. Maybe you can’t blame her for that: frankly I wouldn’t want to be blinded in one eye either, but it’s a chance you take when you go to an event like this.
 
Unfortunate accident. Seems she only wanted medical bills covered? I think that's fair enough, if she's looking for a huge payout it's a different story
 
ecoleman said:
Sport like this should be attended at your own risk. End of. This blame and sue culture if f*****g up the world.

If I was a golfer, there's no way in hell I'd take out insurance to cover somebody that chooses to stand on my playing field where they know I'm going to be belting a small white ball towards them at speed.

The same goes for a Rally. Stand on the outside of a corner, there's a bloody good chance you're going to get run over so stand there by all means but don't blame the organiser when you are.
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How's that work when there's a public footpath across a course? Who has priority?
 
purpleclouds said:
How's that work when there's a public footpath across a course? Who has priority?
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As someone who walks a lot and likes golf, I think it comes down to common sense. I have seen walkers cross a fairway without caring about the golfer about to take a shot. I would personally look to see if anyone was waiting, and if they were, would be happy to wait. I have also waved people through, particularly if I think that they are about the same distance as my shot would land.
 
purpleclouds said:
How's that work when there's a public footpath across a course? Who has priority?
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Assuming a walker bother to use that thing called common sense, then it would work the same way as crossing the road.

Would I walk across a fairway before checking to see if somebody is about to tee off? No. It’s common sense.

I’ve never played golf here in the U.K., but I used to play a bit in SA. It was a bit of fun and I wasn’t particularly good. Many of the golf courses over there are also housing estates. Very posh houses and cars right next to fairways and greens.

It was well understood that you live and parked you car there at your own risk.
 
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I play on a course that has a road running parallel to the last hole. I always check that there are no cars or cyclists approaching the area that my drive is liable to hit (on the road) just in case. FWIW, I have insurance just in case - it also covers me if I ever hit an ace!
 
ecoleman said:
Assuming a walker bother to use that thing called common sense, then it would work the same way as crossing the road.

Would I walk across a fairway before checking to see if somebody is about to tee off? No. It’s common sense.

I’ve never played gold here in the U.K., but I used to play a bit in SA. It was a bit of fun and I wasn’t particularly good. Many of the golf courses over there are also housing estates. Very posh houses and cars right next to fairways and greens.

It was well understood that you live and parked you car there at your own risk.
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There are some courses in the Algarve, Portugal like that - lovely villas right next to tight fairways, most of them with high, fine mesh fences.

http://valedemilhogolf.com/gallery/
 
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ecoleman said:
Assuming a walker bother to use that thing called common sense, then it would work the same way as crossing the road.

Would I walk across a fairway before checking to see if somebody is about to tee off? No. It’s common sense.

I’ve never played golf here in the U.K., but I used to play a bit in SA. It was a bit of fun and I wasn’t particularly good. Many of the golf courses over there are also housing estates. Very posh houses and cars right next to fairways and greens.

It was well understood that you live and parked you car there at your own risk.
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Yes that is indeed common sense, but what happens if someone still got hit.. not crossing the course doesn't equate to not getting hit. Not everyone is Tiger Woods, and shots do end up 'in the rough'.
 
I have to say, I'm surprised by the lack of sympathy for the lady.

I don't know a lot about golf but I know you can insure against getting a hole in one. It doesn't seem unreasonable for either the players or the tournament itself to have insurance against accidents like this. The chances are a million to one and neither she nor anybody else could have prevented it. A few pence from the sale of each ticket would provide with (say) a million pounds of compensation when something dreadful like this happens.

BTW, first time I went to see motor sport, one of the spectators got killed in a freak accident. It wasn't anybody's fault but everyone was pretty sympathetic.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I have to say, I'm surprised by the lack of sympathy for the lady.

I don't know a lot about golf but I know you can insure against getting a hole in one. It doesn't seem unreasonable for either the players or the tournament itself to have insurance against accidents like this. The chances are a million to one and neither she nor anybody else could have prevented it. A few pence from the sale of each ticket would provide with (say) a million pounds of compensation when something dreadful like this happens.

BTW, first time I went to see motor sport, one of the spectators got killed in a freak accident. It wasn't anybody's fault but everyone was pretty sympathetic.
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I don't think people have no sympathy for he lady. What happened is a terrible accident.
What irks me (and I suspect many others) is the sue culture of modern times which means we have to pay to insure ourselves for every bloody little thing.

Christ, you can't even take photos these days without having to have insurance incase some clumsy idiot trips over your tripod.
 
ecoleman said:
I don't think people have no sympathy for he lady. What happened is a terrible accident.
What irks me (and I suspect many others) is the sue culture of modern times which means we have to pay to insure ourselves for every bloody little thing.

Christ, you can't even take photos these days without having to have insurance incase some clumsy idiot trips over your tripod.
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Maybe so. I think people actually suing for compensation is a lot less common than the "media" would have you think. It's a long and fairly tricky process but I don't have stats to back up that guess.

As for the tripod thing - sure, why not? I have to have insurance. If somebody trips over badly placed equipment and suffers life changing injuries then it doesn't really matter whether it was an amateur or professional who placed it badly. And if it was the "clumsy idiot's" fault then I expect the insurance company would explain that to them rather than paying out.
 
It is the sueing that's caused the lack of sympathy, especially as the organisers appear to have been trying to take care of her. If they had demonstrated wilful negligence then it would be quite different, but that doesn't appear to be the case here.
 
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