So you really do have to say "fore" when you play golf?

[miami_fan]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5817068

Man sues Mashburn over errant golf shot

MIAMI (AP) - A man who claims he was injured by an errant golf ball hit by former Miami Heat player Jamal Mashburn on a Miami golf course in 2004 sued the retired player for damages.

Jerome Crance was hospitalized on three separate occasions after the ball struck him in the eye, his lawyer Dennis Koltun said Tuesday.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court and seeks an excess of $15,000 in damages.

Crance and Mashburn, who retired from the NBA after an injury last year, were both playing golf at the upscale LaGorce Country Club in March 2005. Crance was teeing off on the 17th hole when Mashburn hit a shot off the 18th hole that struck him in the eye, the lawsuit said.

Mashburn didn't yell "fore" when he hit the stray ball and failed "to give any warning whatsoever," the lawsuit said.

Koltun said his client suffered serious injuries after the incident.

"He's permanently lost vision in one eye because of a detached retina," Koltun said.

It was not immediately known if Mashburn was represented by an attorney. A telephone listing in Miami for the name Jamal Mashburn was not published.

Mashburn played for the Heat from 1997 until 2000 when he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets. The 33-year-old forward was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round NBA draft in 1993. He shares a Mavericks' record with a career-high 50 points scored in a single game in 1994.

[JS19]

My guess is that when he found out it was Mashburn that hit the ball, he figured he might as well try to capatalize on it.

[Joe]

Mashburn is retired?

[Telle]

Originally Posted by JS19

My guess is that when he found out it was Mashburn that hit the ball, he figured he might as well try to capatalize on it.

Except that he's not asking for very much. Only about $15,000.. so it sounds like he's just looking to cover his medical costs. If you were trying to milk someone with money you'd do the whole "pain and suffering" thing.

[Abe Sargent]

Exactly, which makes it a more legit suit in my opinion

[Vince]

I'd think with a loss of vision in one eye, this would be the case no matter who hit the ball. It's only newsworthy because Mashburn was an NBA player.

[Deattribution]

Originally Posted by Telle

Except that he's not asking for very much. Only about $15,000.. so it sounds like he's just looking to cover his medical costs. If you were trying to milk someone with money you'd do the whole "pain and suffering" thing.

It doesn't change the fact that for any normal person, $15,000 is alot to pony up on the fly - and if this weren't Mashburn, nobody would be saying 'well he can easily pay that, it's not very much'.

[ThunderingHERD]

You assume the risk by going to a golf course. Not yelling "Fore!" sounds like very shaky ground for a negligence claim.

That said, if the guy was legitimately blinded, $15,000 isn't the least bit exorbitant and it seems like Mashburn would be better off just setting out of court.

[Glengoyne]

So he hit a guy with a golf ball, but was he masturbating?

[JimboJ]

Don't golf courses have insurance to cover this type of thing?

[Galaxy]

How do you strike someone if your on seperate holes? Also, how lucky is that that you would get a ball from another hole that strikes you exactly in the eye? (wouldn't you see the ball coming?)

[Deattribution]

I wonder if this is going to be a feature in Total Pro Golf

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

How do you strike someone if your on seperate holes? Also, how lucky is that that you would get a ball from another hole that strikes you exactly in the eye? (wouldn't you see the ball coming?)

You've never played golf, have you?

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by JimboJ

Don't golf courses have insurance to cover this type of thing?

No, it's an "assumed risk" issue -- like going to a ball game, courts have ruled that going to a stadium or ball game means you assume the risk of getting hit by a ball.

This isn't unusual -- there have been other cases, involving both people with and without money. Most of the time, it seems the courts rule that getting hit an errant tee shot is a risk you take, unless you can prove poor golf course design caused the problem or some act of recklessness. I think there was a case a few years ago where a guy sued because he got hit by a mulligan and there have been quite a few times when people have sued because someone didn't yell fore.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

You've never played golf, have you?

Nope (Can't stand it). That's why I asked the questions.

[Danny]

I prefer to complete the previous golfer's thought and yell out skin.

[Philliesfan980]

I think he's still technically property of the 76ers, this guy is still collecting cash.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Nope (Can't stand it). That's why I asked the questions.

Sorry, I probably came across much more sarcastic than I mean to be. On many golf courses -- especially older golfer courses more than 15 years old or courses on small pieces of ground -- holes will run parallel to one another, so if you hit an errant shot it can go onto another hold fairly easily. Plus, since tee boxes for the next hole are often close to previous hold, if you hit an errant tee shot you might hit the tee box of the next hole. Those are just a couple of ways it might happen.

On a tee shot, a golf ball travels faster than a Nolan Ryan fastball, so speed is one issue. Plus to get hit in the eye you don't have to be facing forward -- you could be facing 90 degrees from the direction of the shot and be looking away and the ball could hit you in the eye. Plus, a golf ball is very small, very fast and coming in from over your head, so it's easy to miss.

Etiquette when you hit an errant shot -- especially when you know it's headed toward people -- is to shout "fore" so that players know to protect themselves.