A man who suffered injuries after a golf buggy driven by him toppled over, trapping his leg, has lost his High Court action.
Evan Stack (42), a truck driver in the film industry, of Loggan, Gorey, Co Wexford, had sued Leinster Hills Golf Club and Development Company, Co Carlow, over the incident at the club on June 26th, 2010.
He claimed the electric golf cart was defective because the brakes locked as he was driving down an incline near the eighth tee.
The club claimed the incident was his own fault because he was driving too fast.
Today the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, dismissed the claim after finding the buggy was not defective.
Harsh and unreasonable
It would also be harsh and unreasonable to find the club proprietors negligent in circumstances where Mr Stack touched the brake while moving downhill at an increasing angle, causing the buggy to overturn, the judge said.
The judge said he also had to bear in mind Mr Stack previously worked as a green keeper at another golf club in Wicklow and had driven this type of buggy before.
The court heard Mr Stack was one of a party of 16 on a stag party outing to the golf club.
In evidence earlier, Mr Stack, a father of two, said he first noticed the brakes locking at the third hole. He continued playing but the incident happened when the brakes locked again at the eighth hole.
The back of the buggy came out and it toppled over, landing on his lower left leg. Others lifted the buggy off him and the golf continued but he had to give up because of the pain.
When they got back to the clubhouse, staff offered to get him an ambulance but he got a friend to drive him to hospital, he said. He later needed a skin graft for the injury and still has a scar and some discomfort.
He denied he was travelling too fast, saying it was very hard to achieve speed in a golf buggy.