Evelyn Mohr was driving by the Victoria Golf Club when a golf ball allegedly flew through her open window and struck her in the face, states a new lawsuit.
A civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday, Feb. 29, says plaintiff Mohr was driving along Beach Drive with her window down on June 4, 2023, when the ball hit her, resulting in severe injuries, including facial lacerations.
The claim lists three defendants — the golf player who hit the ball, the golf club, and the District of Oak Bay — and says Mohr is seeking monetary damages.
The document from last week says Mohr, of Vancouver, “was conducting herself in a safe and prudent manner” at the time of the incident.
It alleges defendant Kane Wyatt, the golfer, “negligently struck a golf ball from the Golf Club that hit the plaintiff in the face, causing severe injuries.”
According to the claim, along with the lacerations, Mohr also suffered a concussion, cognitive deficits and an increased risk for degenerative changes like dementia.
Her eye, cheek, neck and forehead were also injured, and she’s had headaches, dizziness, nausea, anxiety, emotional liability, chronic pain, fatigue and sleep disruption since the incident occurred, states the claim.
It says Mohr has not only suffered injuries resulting in continued pain and suffering but also loss of enjoyment of life and earnings, as her ability to work was cut short.
None of the accusations have been proven in court.
Mohr is seeking general, special and aggravated damages, as well as past and future costs of health-care services required as a result of the incident.
The claim alleges Wyatt’s negligence, including failing to ensure others’ safety, resulted in the incident.
It also says the club was designed in a way that posed risks to passersby and notes there was no warning about areas where there was a danger of being hit with golf balls.
Not the first claim of its kind in B.C.
Michael Mulligan, a defence lawyer in Victoria, tells CHEK News this isn’t the first B.C.-based lawsuit involving a golf ball that’s gone astray and hit somebody.
“And so there is a bit of law surrounding this, and the basic principles say somebody suing a person for getting hit with a golf ball, first of all, has to prove that the person that they’re suing owed them a duty of care,” he said.
“Essentially, the person who was hit would have to establish that the golfer was negligent or careless. So, the test would be, did the golfer act as a reasonable golfer? Sometimes accidents happen, even when someone is acting reasonably. If that’s so, the golfer would not be responsible for the damage.”
Mulligan sums it up as an interesting claim because Mohr is suing not just the golfer but also the golf club and the district.
“For example, suing the municipality, they need to establish that the municipality owed the driver some duty of care,” he added.
“Then, if they succeed in that, they would need to show that somehow the club was careless, which led to the golf ball incident.”
The Victoria Golf Club was founded in 1893 and lauds itself as the oldest 18-hole golf club in Canada. Beach Drive, between Margate and Newport avenues, runs through the middle of the course, with a sidewalk on the east side of the road.
A sign installed on the side of Beach Drive, north of Newport Avenue, reads “Caution. Errant golf balls. Park at your own risk.”
CHEK News reached out to Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch, and the district replied saying it will not comment on any civil claims that are currently before the courts.
The golf club also isn’t commenting.
Ethan Morneau
