When most people hit the links with their buddies, they don't anticipate getting sued for their shanks.
I guess it is America, so you can sue for just about anything. But it doesn't mean you'll win.
The New York Court of Appeals struck down an unfortunate case between two Doctors.
The Associated Press reports Dr. Anoop Kapoor and Dr. Azad Anand were golfing 9 holes in 2002 when Anand was hit by Kapoor's errant shot. Anand was blinded in one eye and sued Kapoor saying he was liable because he did not yell "Fore!" to alert Anand to his bad shot.
The New York Court of Appeals is a panel of seven judges. In their decision they wrote:
"The manner in which Anand was injured — being hit without warning by a 'shanked' shot while one searches for one's own ball — reflects a commonly appreciated risk of golf."
Court testimony showed Anand was 15 to 20 feet away from where the bad shot took place. I'm not sure yelling "Fore!" would've helped anyway.
Newsday reports that Anand has been pursuing this case despite numerous losses:
Anand sued in October 2005 in State Supreme Court, Mineola, but a judge dismissed the case two years later, saying that getting hit by a ball is an inherent risk of the game. A lower appellate court then upheld the decision last year, saying that Kapoor had no duty to give a warning because evidence indicates that Anand "was at so great an angle away from the defendant and the intended line of flight that he was not in the foreseeable danger zone."
There are risks in life. Put your buddy's shanked golf ball down as one of those risks.
