Florida Golfing Injuries
Florida is home to a lot of golf courses. In fact, Golf.com ranks Florida number one for having the most golf courses in the country. And it’s true, our state boasts 1,042 courses (with new ones popping up all the time), and perhaps more importantly, year-round access.
While nothing could be better than a beautiful Florida afternoon of golf and good company, there are also a lot of injuries that happen on golf courses. Sadly, some golf courses and country clubs fail to properly inspect and maintain equipment, fail to properly train their staff, and fail to maintain the course. When management cuts corners, it can really cause problems.
Most Common Golf Course Injuries
According to 2015 research by Kyongmin Lee, published by the University of New Mexico, the majority of golf course injuries are as follows:
- People struck by golf balls
- Slip and fall injuries on the course or in the clubhouse
- People struck by golf carts
- Golf cart ejections
- Golf cart rollovers
- Flying clubs
- Heat and weather-related injuries
Golf Cart Injuries
A recent report from the New York Times suggested that golf cart rollovers and other types of injuries may be increasing. The report says that there were over 150,000 golf cart injuries from 1990 to 2006. While there may be a lot of reasons for this, one common cause is a simple lack of common sense and reasonable care. Some country clubs may remove speed regulators to passively encourage golfers to go faster. By increasing the speed of travel even slightly, courses can rush more people through the links each day. Even if doing so allows 3 or 4 more golfers through the course each day, when you multiply those profits by 365 days, the courses stand to make a hefty profit off of putting the public at risk.
Likewise, other safety features are often ignored or removed, such as back-up alerts, which are crucial to golf cart safety. A golf cart operates off of an electrical motor, rather than a gas engine. Therefore, a golf cart is entirely silent when resting in place. People can be seriously hurt if they can’t hear the golf cart backing up.
Recent Golf Cart Injuries
ABC News reported a July 2016 rollover accident where three teenagers were seriously hurt when a golf cart overturned. Consider an even more recent case where 4 people were hurt in a golf cart rollover in Missouri in 2017. These are not isolated events. While it’s sad that in some situations, operators are careless and cause their own injuries, sometimes there is more to the situation.
Injured on a Florida Golf Course
Whether you are on vacation or a regular golfer, if you are injured because of a negligent country club management company, or a poorly maintained course, you may have a right to be compensated for your injuries. Every case is unique, but if you suspect that someone else is responsible for your injuries, you should immediately contact an experienced Tampa personal injury lawyer to learn more about your rights and get real answers.
But don’t delay. Florida law imposes strict time limits on bringing a lawsuit for your injuries. Wait too long, and you can be forever barred from recovering for your injuries. Don’t get hung with big medical bills; call the attorneys of Roman & Roman, P.A. today. The call is always free, and we never collect a fee unless you recover for your injuries.
Resources:
digitalrepository.unm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=educ_hess_etds
golf.com/golf-gold/united-states-golf-every-state-union-ranked-its-golfiness
local10.com/news/3-teens-taken-to-hospital-after-golf-cart-overturns-in-key-largo
whig.com/20170714/four-injured-in-golf-cart-crash
well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/golf-cart-injuries-are-on-the-rise/