Woman At Ryder Cup Blinded In One Eye By Koepka (Usa Team)

[DTCwordfan]

Yes awful

but going to sue the organisers???

Come off it, she walks on to a golf course to watch an event - she should be fully aware there's an associated risk of being hit, however small.

It's like folk moaning about having golf balls land in their gardens/windows in houses on a golf course. Owners don't stand a chance legally as you buy the house with a known risk - and how many golf courses are built between the houses once they have been constructed - no it's the other away around. And if one sells the house, then the risk is more than apparent.

The only exception is if she can prove Koepka did it deliberately - me thinks not, even in France.

Views....?

[Spicerack]

I don't think you have to prove fault. People get compensated for accidents every day.

[naomi24]

A terrible accident, but I agree with you. There's no way the organisers are responsible for the safety of spectators.

[fiction-factory]

>I don't think you have to prove fault. People get compensated for accidents every day.

I'm not sure what you mean there Spicerack. Can you give an example please?

[Spicerack]

Isn't it similar to, say, a postman suing you for slipping and breaking an ankle on your property. He'd win but nobody's saying it's your fault.

[DTCwordfan]

It's all about bluff - to be cynical, she's hoping they stomp up les Euros before they incur the cost of the avocats et les cours en France or wherever......

[Spicerack]

There must be hundreds of 'no fault' car accidents every day, insurance companies still pay out.
Everything I'm saying is an opinion. I'm not claiming to be a legal expert. Lol.

[choux]

DTC - you are asking for views on a loss-of-sight situation ...!

Poor woman and poor Koepka. She was doing nothing wrong and suffered a dreadful accident but she must have known there was a risk in attending the event. She is not the first spectator to have been hit by a golf ball fired by a professional sportsperson and there is some speed in those shots. If only Koepka's shots had velocity as well.

Unfortunately, "deux yeux" did not see the ball coming and she now has a permanent disability. I wish her well and Koepka.

[cassa333]

She was saying she has to sue to pay for medical bills.

The organisers didn’t keep them far enough back!

[douglas9401]

It will surely result in moving crowds well back in the name of safety, much like rallying or F1 with tethered wheels and vastly improved catch-fencing to protect spectators.

Maybe even make onlookers wear safety headgear.

Life must be risk free or somebody's going to pay.

[AuntLydia]

It will all be paid for by the Insurance.

[andy-hughes]

I am sure that somewhere in the small print on the ticket, there will a disclaimer advising that the organisers are not responsible for injury, howsoever caused.

That would seem to be common sense in a sport where people hit very hard balls very fast into an area where people may be standing.

[Ellipsis]

Dreadful all round. You don't go to a golf tournament expecting to lose your sight - or, I would imagine, as a player, blind someone. People often get hit but usually no worse than a bit of bruising.

I feel really sorry for the spectator. She doesn't seem to have handled it very well so far but anybody in her place would feel a bit bitter. Hopefully the organisers will step up and make sure she's well looked after. Otherwise, it's a nasty taint on what was a fabulous victory.

[Peter Pedant]

why is every talking about French civil law when no one knows what it is ?
I am not sure if the cause of action ( = the way they sue ) is in negligence
and Spicerack may be right ( blimey!) - there may be a route without showing fault in French Law.

as for blanket statements that if you buy a ticket to spectate (=contract) the organisers have no duty to make it safe - jesus
well this is a normal evg on AB !

[Peter Pedant]

// there will a disclaimer advising that the organisers are not responsible for injury, howsoever caused. //
oh dear dear
has no one heard of the Contact unfair terms act 1977?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfair_terms_in_English_contract_law

in English law as a fr'instance - this is France isnt it?

[jim360]

Most people who go to golf tournaments don't end up leaving half-blind, so I don't see how it's a risk "to be expected".

I would expect things to be settled out of court, if nothing else because it would seem monumentally stupid to try and fight the case.

[pastafreak]

I was half listening to a BBC report about this incident this morning. Now I may have not heard correctly, but I thought it was stated that there are warnings regarding the direction a shot will be made in...and this wasn't done.
As I said...I was not concentrating on what was said.

[kvalidir]

I think I remember a spectator at a rally getting hit by a car and badly injured in either Belgium or France and they got paid out because they were in the designated spectator area, of course organisers have to make sure things are safe. I do feel for everyone in this I mean how realistically do you protect people against stray golfballs ( as David said to Goliath?) :)

[Ellipsis]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/45734449

Mrs Remande said she was "very angry" about a number of issues:

* She believes the marshals should have warned that a ball was coming as spectators would not have heard shouts of 'fore' from the tee.
* She says the marshals did not communicate that players were attempting to drive for the green instead of laying up on the fairway.
* She claims officials did not check on her or visit her after she was taken to hospital.
* She alleges there was a lack of safety warnings on the ticket and signage around the venue.

What do the organisers say?

The European Tour says 'fore' was shouted several times, and that marshals are not aware of a player's strategy in advance of any shot, especially in matchplay like the Ryder Cup.

It says there was contact with the family from the moment the incident happened - initially on site, then through the French Golf Federation, and subsequently by Ryder Cup Europe.

The organisation said Ryder Cup tickets contained ground regulations which clearly stated that spectators acknowledge the general risks associated with golf, including risks with errant shots.

Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said: "Our deepest sympathies continue to be with Mme Remande and her family. Brooks Koepka, who has said he is heartbroken by the incident, has also contacted the family.

[retrocop]

Very unfortunate indeed. Unfortunately people seem these days to be well versed in Compensation Law but have not learnt of Murphy's Law.
If you went to speedway,many years ago when I believe it was the largest spectator sport above all, one would know your face will get pebbledashed by track cinder if you placed yourself at the front of other spectators. I wish I had a tenner for every rally car I witnessed losing it on a mountain track after a power slide was overcooked and spectators were spectacularly missed if lucky or dead if not..
This woman was an avid golf fan. She must of witnessed mis hits in all the Tournaments she had attended.Obviously the golfer had is eye on the ball but she didn't. Take the risk or watch the match on TV at home.

[retrocop]

https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t&p=Rally+car+near+misses+with+spectators#id=51&vid=5ff92a999c9b6e6675a9c9c1e9fdcde6&action=view