Premises Liability
Mount Ogden Golf Course - Dangerous Cart Paths
04/24/10 10:20
Should a City be able to put “zero thought” into the
design of golf cart paths on a course, fail to
maintain the steep and dangerous golf cart path and
fail to keep records and then blame the patron when
his or her golf car skids and flips on a steep,
improperly banked and leaf covered cart path? A jury
considered this question during a four day jury trial
in Ogden Second District Court. The jurors concluded
that Ogden City was negligent because they put no
thought into the design of the cart path and failed
to maintain that cart path once built. The jury
didn’t let the golf cart driver off completely.
Applying Utah’s comparative fault law, the jury
concluded that Ogden City was 70% at fault, while the
driver was 30% at fault for the injuries.
The driver’s injuries included a severely comminuted (shattered) elbow and upper arm, which required two different surgical procedures to repair. The second surgery took over 7 hours to complete and resulted in the placement of over 18 different screws, plates and wires to reconstruct the arm. The driver also suffers from post traumatic stress as a result of the tip over and his arm now lacks 30 degrees of motion in all directions, making it difficult to even turn a door knob. Medical expenses in the case were over $83,000 with lost wages greater than $6,600.
Ogden City offered to settle the case for $6,600. After trial, the jury found damages to be $361,661.
We are proud to have represented the driver in this case and extend our sincere gratitude to the jury who carefully, thoughtfully and fully considered all the evidence in this case.
The driver’s injuries included a severely comminuted (shattered) elbow and upper arm, which required two different surgical procedures to repair. The second surgery took over 7 hours to complete and resulted in the placement of over 18 different screws, plates and wires to reconstruct the arm. The driver also suffers from post traumatic stress as a result of the tip over and his arm now lacks 30 degrees of motion in all directions, making it difficult to even turn a door knob. Medical expenses in the case were over $83,000 with lost wages greater than $6,600.
Ogden City offered to settle the case for $6,600. After trial, the jury found damages to be $361,661.
We are proud to have represented the driver in this case and extend our sincere gratitude to the jury who carefully, thoughtfully and fully considered all the evidence in this case.
