December 11, 2020 | BY AAGD STAFF
A spectator at the West of Ireland Championship for amateurs was hit on the left side of his forehead head by a golf ball while attending the 2016 event at County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point, Sligo. Now, four years later, Colm Campbell says he is in constant pain and that the incident has forever changed his life. The result: Mr. Campbell is suing the hitter of that golf ball, Mr. Kevin Le Blanc, who at the time was an amateur golfer, then played professionally for a few years afterward.
The lawsuit is in High Court and involves not only Mr. Le Blanc but also the organizer of the competition, The Golfing Union of Ireland. According to the Irish Times, the case claims that when in the rough at the 11th green and 12th tee box, Le Blanc hit the ball, it overshot the green and hit Mr. Campbell on the head.
SO GOES THE CASE…
When opening the case on Thursday, Liam Reidy SC instructed by Damien Tansey solicitor Counsel said they contend that was “an errant shot” and, if a shot is errant, there is a fundamental obligation to shout “fore” because somebody could be in its way.
“It is a key standard that applies to every golfer from the elite to the lower level, particularly in the circumstances where the match is being watched by a group of spectators,” Mr. Reidy said.
Noel McCarthy SC, for Mr. Le Blanc, said his case is that it was not a wayward shot but was rather a competent shot and that is why the golfer did not shout “fore”. Mr. Le Blanc will say the shot was a perfectly well-struck shot and not a veering one that required him to call “fore”, counsel said.
Mr. Campbell (65), a father of three from Donegal town, has sued County Sligo Golf Club, Rosses Point; the event organizers, The Golfing Union of Ireland National Coaching Academy Ltd, with offices at Maynooth, Co Kildare and Mr. Le Blanc, Donabate, Co Dublin over the incident on March 28th, 2016.
It is claimed against the County Sligo Golf Club and the Golfing Union of Ireland there was a failure to take reasonable care for the safety of spectators to give warnings to those attending the competition they ought not to be located at the place where Mr. Campbell suffered an injury.
It is claimed against Mr. Le Blanc he allegedly failed to warn spectators, including Mr. Campbell, of dangers of which he ought to have been aware.
All the claims are denied and it is pleaded there was contributory negligence on the part of Mr. Campbell who, it is claimed, was engaged in conversation and not looking at the golfer take the shot. It is further claimed Mr. Campbell failed to draw on his own vast experience as a golfer and failed to follow the flight of the ball and adjust his position accordingly.
In evidence, Mr. Campbell said he was talking, there was a bang and that is all he remembers.
He said he was kept in hospital until the early hours for observation and when discharged was in pain. “The next few days were terrible. I had a lot of pain, it did not improve,” he said.
He said he is in constant pain and has tinnitus in one of his ears which is “unbearable”.
“My life was totally changed,” he said. While he still plays “a bit of golf”, he has “a lot of fear of being hit again.”
The case continues next week.
