A 26-year-old college student who was permanently blinded in his left eye by an errant golf ball two years ago at Mission Bay Golf Course has been awarded nearly $1.2 million by a San Diego Superior Court jury.
Mesa College student Jordan Carlson was putting on the second green when a poorly hit ball struck by a golfer standing about 45 feet away on the third tee went through a chain-link protective fence and struck Carlson directly in the eye, according to court documents.
The ball's trajectory took it right through the fence, which had 2-inch webbing. A golf ball is about 1 3/4 inches wide, Carlson's attorney, Stephen Lucas, said in an interview yesterday.
The jury returned the verdict Wednesday afternoon against De Anza Harbor Resort and Golf, the operators of the course; Terra Vista Management Company, the managers of the course; and golfer Ted Miniham, who is now a San Diego lawyer.
The verdict was 9-3. Lucas said two of the jurors wanted to give his client much more money, the third much less.
Although the course is owned by the city, the operators and manager of the course, under terms of their lease, are responsible for all lawsuits, Lucas said.
The three defendants have worked out between themselves how much each will pay, Lucas said. That agreement has not been made public, and attorneys representing the defendants could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Lucas said it is unclear if they plan to appeal.
Miniham had teed off at the first hole and sliced the ball so badly to the right that it landed on the third tee, Lucas said.
For his second shot, the golfer was aiming in an odd direction trying to get back to the first fairway when he mis-hit his 8-iron and didn't get the desired loft, according to court documents.
The ball then went right through the 6-foot-high fence and struck Carlson.
Lucas estimated the ball was traveling between 70 and 90 mph.
"It was so fast, he heard the sound of a golf ball being hit, turned his head a quarter-turn, and got the ball right in the eye. He didn't even have time to flinch," the lawyer said.
The safety fence, which is supposed to protect golfers from wayward balls in areas where many golfers congregate, was not properly constructed, according to the suit.
"After two years of denying liability for the accident, the golf course operators and the golfer admitted liability, so the case went to the jury only on damages," Lucas said.
The jury awarded Carlson $185,000 for past and future medical expenses and $1 million for pain and suffering.
Still a computer science student, Carlson no longer plays golf because his depth perception makes it hard to hit a ball, Lucas said.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune