BLOW OF A GOLF CLUB.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 766, 15 March 1910, Page 5

BLOW OF A GOLF CLUB.

ON HERETAUNGA LINKS. LADY CLAIMS £750 DAMAGES. HER INJURIES. An unusual case, for the hearing of which a special jury of twelve had been summoned, was brought before the Chief Justioe, Sir Kobert Stout, in the Supreme Court yesterday. - ■ . The plaintiffs .were Frank Maxwell Leckio, Civil Servant, of Wellington, and his wife, Irene Myra L'Bstelle Leckie; The claim was for JC7SO damages from Dr. Ernest Rawson, of Wellington. The following were the special jury —George Herbert Scales (foreman), Ernest William George Coleridgo, Ernest Anderson, Hugh Hamilton, Wm. Alex. Allen, Montifiore A. Phillips, Frederick. James. Dorset,- Albert Hurst Hurstwick, Frederick William Howe, Frank Meadowcroft, William Henry Fulton, and Ulton ITCabe. Mr. E. F. Hadfield appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr. A. L. Herdman for tlie defendant' The Blow The statement of claim filed by plaintiffs set' out that on November 9 last, while Mrs. Leckie was walking along o pathway or track on the golf links at Heietannga/or upon a portion of the go]] links, commonly used to approach the golf house on the links, Dr. Eawson neg ligently swung a golf club so adjacent tc the pathway that he, struck and seriouslj injured Mrs. Leckie. Plaintiffs allegec that Dr. Eawson took no precautions U ascertain whether any person was in thi neighbourhood and. "unlawfully using thi pathway." lira. Leckie alleged that thi bon? of her nose was broken, the fronta base of her skull fractured, and her olfao tory nerve severed—all this being occa sioned by fhe blow. She had lost al sense of smell, her sense of taste was al most wholly destroyed, and part of hei scalp had lost , the power of sensation* be sides which, she was partially, disfigure< in appearance, and had sustained seven nervous shock. Mr. Leckie alleged tha he had incurred expense for. medical an< surgical treatment, made necessary, by thi occurrence, nursing, and other attendant on his wife, and for medicines, to thi amount of £36 19s. 9d. He, therefore claimed judgment for that 6um, and hi wife claimed £750 as damages. " Cass for Defendant. In his statement of defence Dr. Baw son .set out that ho swung his golf olhl in a manner customary. among player of golf, and with a proper regard fo: the . safety of others.. He denied .tha there was a pathway or; track or right of-way, as stated, or that there was an; portion of. the links upon which Mrs Leckie had a right to walk. No.portioi of the links was commonly' used to ap proach the golf house. He further de nied that Mrs. Leckie sustained sever physical injuries, arid added that any in jury sustained by Mrs. Leckie was caua ed by . "inevitable accident," inasmuc] • as it. was not. caused intentionally ani could not have been avoided by reason able care on his part. In company wit] three, other players,; he was about ti commence a game, and, after havini carefully ascertained, that no. one wa near, he swung his club, for the pur poses of practice; exercising all due care While so engaged, Mrs. Leckie negli gently approached, and attempted- t pass the: green or , tee upon which h was practising ' and received the blow Mrs. Leckio alone was. to blame, for th injury {■ sustained, and was . guilty . o contributory negligence, inasmuch as: (1 She did not take reasonable care t avoid danger; (2) she 1 gave' no sign o her approach to the defendant; (3) sll should have asked the defendant am his .companions for' permission to cros the . green or tee, or should have waitei until they had vacated the tee before at tempting to pass-behind them; and (4 she had no business to be where sh was, and should have avoided .the tee. "Driven to Court." Mr. Hadfield. said that Mr. Leckie wa employed in the Old Age Pension De partmont of the Post Office. When Mrs Leckie sustained injury, she was on i part of. the links where no game of gol ' was,-or ever ought to'be, played. As i matter of fact, no game was in pro 1 gress. An idea of. the force of the bfor would be giten when it was' stated tha the whole of the front of the skull hai been driven in two inches and a half That meant that only a portion of thi tip of the nose protruded. A skilfu I operation had been subsequently per formed, and. tho injuries :w?re consider ably lessened The effeot pf th nervous shook remained, however, am Mrs. Leckie's hand now shook bo tha she could hardly write, and could no sew' at all. As she was the .mother of i family of three, the: eldest - being fiv. years of. age, this was a very importan matter. Air. Leckie, who was a man o small means, had endeavoured to do thi • best for his wife, and vhe. claimed ti recover the aotual medical and-.nursinj >expenses. The doctor's fee had been 16 ' guineas. Reverting, to details, Mr. Had held added that Mrs. Leckio was return » ihg to the golf house, after having playei ■ a game with. Mrs. loung, when she wa struck by the club, as stated. Dr. Kaw .son . and. three companions, had. arrivei late, having missed a train, and th. practice stroke which , inflicted the injur; . on Mrs. Leckie was made while thi 1 players were discussing the terms of thi 1 .competition. One of. the four had gon< to the golf house to ascertain whether i 1 was to be a four-ball game or a four '' some. Although evidence of negligenci : would be given, this was an extreme case 1 which, counsel contended, required ni proof of negligence at all. He (Mr. Had 1 held) then proceeded to read letters whicl | had pasesd between the parties to th '• case,, and which, he said, Bhowed tha 1 Mr. Leckie. was driven to < take action ■ through the refusal of . Dr. Eawson ti admit responsibility. . The Game: Etiquette and Precautions. Everard William Seaton, surveyor, gavi . particulars of a survey which he hat made at the links. He. added that Mrs .Leckie took the natural path from th< footbridge to the golf house. . . Eobert Graham, attendant>_t the links, stated in evidence that, on November 9 ; the discs on No. 1 hie, where. Dr. liaw son and his companions were, had beei placed farther back. than usual; Gilbert Martin, professional player, al Heretaunga, showed the jury the relative positions which Dr. Itawson and Urs, Leckie had oocupied. : He also demonstrated possible strokes. . He said thai he would not care to say whether th« path taken by Mrs. Lcckio'was the route customarily used. To Mr. Herdman: It was a rule of golf that no person -should stand behind another who was playing a stroke. The player required to keep his eyes intently on a particular spot on the ground. His Honour remarked that plaintiffs had to show want of care, on the part of Dr. Eawson in swinging his club. In further cross-examination, witnest stated that he would not have taken the risk of walking behind No. 1 tee, il players were there preparing for a game, There, was very little room to get past. Ho would have "stood by" until they had left the tee. Charles Gore, member of ,thc club, stated that ho was at No. 1 tee .when Mrs. Leckie was struck: With Mr. iurkby, • he was about to commence a game against Dr. Eawson and Mr. Blun(lell. Mrs.' Leckie cried out: "You have killed me," and was assisted to tho golf house. She did not lose consciousness. To Mr. Herdman: He considored that people might, legitimately pass behind No. 1 toe when players were there. He had seen people streaming past when players were oh the tco ready to commence a game. AVhen counsel prflceedod ti) examine the witness as to Dr. Rawson's demeanour after Mrs. Leckie was injured, his Honour remarked that tho whole question was as to - negligence. There was no sugges- _ tion that Dr. Eawson -had acted impro-,

uorly or uufcelingly,'and t!:e. jury vera lot concerned with »n« *'"<•& matter. ■ Cases in this Court are frnnen.tty d"Tm out unnecessarily because counsel embark on side issues," said Ms Honour. ' ■ Reginald Wynn Kirkhv. uliarebroker, »nd Cyril Herbert BlimdeU, dentist, also described the incident. William Whitehead, golf professional, connected with the Hutt. Club,-also gave evidence. Leckie,' one of the plaintiffs, said -that he' had no recollection of having expressed the opinion. that his wife herself • was wholly to blame for the accident. His Honour remarked that, even if Mr. Leckie had made such a' statement, it would not prevent-.his wits from suing. _ > Dr. M'Gavin described the injuries and the operation which lie performed, Dr. Rawson administering the anaesthetic. ■' Dr. Martin gave his observations of tha case. Mrs. Leckie's Evidence Mrs. Leckie stated that she Tind played a game of golf with Mrs. Young, and, lifter finishing at the. eighteenth hole, they proceeded towards the golf. honEO by the nearest way. As they cam© up . hind the first tee, Mrs. Young was in - the lead, and the.first intimation which witness had of danger was the stroko of the club. She saw the movement of Dr. Kawson's arms, the cLub swung round. towards her, and felt the blow. - simultaneously. As. a result of the injuries. she had. ' received her ner« • vous condition was such that she couldnot now do any sewing. . CrosMiaminei Mrs. Leckie stated that she had played golf for six month* beJ°k» accident. ,She - did not ■ that it was her duty' to call out to the men at the teo when she was approach- ' ing. Had she thought that there was any danger in' going near the tee she would' have taken another route to the. golf house. She did not think that Dr. Itawsoh saw her coming, but as there was no game in . progress she had no idea that ': Dr. Kawson would swing his clutu.-' Dr. Kawson had come to see her after ths accident at her request. It was not true that on that occasion she had thanked him for his kindness and attention; she considered that she had nothing to thank him for. She did not tell him that it J'as ' a pure, accident," nor did she tell him that she was about to bring 'an action for damages against him. She did , not know at that time that 6he would" be treated as she had, been. Counsel for Defence Opens. In opening the case for the ■ defence Mr. Herdman observed that the defence ft 1 ! u PPn the '" following points .-—{l).. That Dr. Eawson had not been guilty of negligence;. (2) that the injury to m, Lcckie was the result of an inevitable accident, for which neither party was to blame; (3) that if the jury came to th« conclusion that Dr. Bawsoh had -been negligent, Mrs. leckie had been guilty of negligence. Why had the ladies not given a warning? Dr. Rawteon, having "teed" his •ball, looked round ana saw them in the distance, and he proto prepare for the game, thinking . that they were on their, way to a farther hole. As he was about to ewing he looked round again and saw nobody approaching. One of his companions must have hidden the ladies from view. ' • Dp. Rawson Called. ; _Dr. Rawson, the defendant,, dated that' if Mrs. Leckie had been an angel fronj Heaven he would not have been' more . surprised than; he was when he became aware of her proximity ■ after the accident. • He dressed the wound, brought her into town in a motor-car, and assisted at the operation, performed, by Dr. M'Gavin.. In his opinion, when players' were on a tee persons ought not to approach, They • should wait, until", play was: finished, or go another way, or stand still. Further hearing of evidence wag ad-' journed until this morning.