One female golfer recently won her accident claim against a golf club in Staffordshire, winning £16,000 in personal injury compensation for the injuries she suffered when she was struck by a stray golf ball in the face.
Based in Burton, the Branston Golf and Country Club now faces fines of £5,000 for neglecting to protect the public. After a recent appearance in Burton Magistrates’ Court, the country club was also ordered to pay court costs of £3,500, while a direct payment of £7,500 is also to be made to the injured golfer as well.
The victim, Rachel Davis, had been heading towards the car park of the club via a footpath when she was struck in the face by an errant shot that originated from the driving range, the court was told. The impact had so much force that Ms Davis was left with several broken teeth as well as bruising and lacerations to her face.
The incident was investigated by East Staffordshire Borough Council, in which it was discovered that the fencing that surrounded the perimeter of the driving range was not sufficiently high enough to prevent golf balls from passing overhead. Moreover, the fence was also found to contain holes large enough to permit stray balls through.
The prosecution for the Council also remarked that, according to a risk assessment that had been carried out on the perimeter fence in the past, the golf club knew that the fence was inadequate. However, these recommendations were never acted upon by the golf club before the accident, though in the wake of the incident, the golf club has both changed the driving range’s targets and also fitted it with more ball stopping nets.