GOLFING ACCIDENT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 9167, Issue 9167, 16 March 1910, Page 6

GOLFING ACCIDENT.

THE LECKIE-RAWSON CASE. VERDICT FOR DEFENDANT. The- hearing of the case in which Frank M. Leekie and his wife, Irene M. L. Leekie. claimed £786 damages from Ernest. Rawson for personal injuries, was concluded in the Supreme Court at Wellington yesterday before the Chief Justice.

PLAINTIFF'S EVIDENCE

Mrs Leekie, who was accommodated with a chair, instead of being obliged to stand in the witness box. stated that prior to the accident she, had been playing with Mrs Young. They finished playing at the eighteenth hole, and they started for the golf house. She saw four men on the first toe; one of them left unci walked towards the golfhouse. She and Mrs Young walked side by side until they got near the teeing ground, and then Mrs Young took the lead. _ When eke saw Dr. Rawson. ho was facing towards the first hole, and did not change his attitude. Mrs Young got past safely. and then witness saw the club and felt it hit ho' simultaneously. As the result of the accident she was unable (o smell anything; she could taste anything very sour or very sweet; the scars had improved. She had suffered a. great deal of pain, and her hand was so shaky that she was unable to do anything.

To Mr Ilerdman: She hiid played golf for six months before the accident. Mrs Young did not give her to understand that there was ;in element of risk in going the way they did. She knew it was a. general practice to have a trial swing before playing. The space between the toe and the fence was not very wide. She did not think of calling out when approaching the tee. If she thought there had been any danger she would nor have gone that. way. Dr. Rawson did not see her coming—not to her knowledge. She was wearing a

.hat, tied on with a veil. She hud no recollection of having her head down. Br. Rav.'*o:i had no swing when she was coming along. The first swing he had was the one that hit her. By the way he- was standing, she jnderd lie had his club in his hand. Host men who were troing to have a preliminary swing gave some indication of moving, but Dr. Rawson stood, perfectly «rill. From the way he was sianding. if be had hit a ball it ■would have gone into the river. lie ■was not bending over or striking the" ground with his club. Counsel: You recollect all those small details? —I recollect everything that Imp-

poned. Why didn't you warn these people you •wore coming?— There was no game in progress. Was it not your duty to ask permission to ci oss the tee? —No, there was no game going on. You could, stay where- you were until the men left the tee? —And as one of them had left we might have waited for an hour. Don't you admit that the whole thing was an accident '.' —Of course it was an accident. Dr. Rawscn came to sec you —Yes, at my special request. Did you not tell him it was not his fault''—No, I did not say that. You pa i ted on excellent terms? —Yes. There was no suggestion that you were going to bring an action? —No, I had not realised how 1 was being treated. _ A number of other witnesses gave evidence.

CAgE FOR THE DEFENCE. In opening the case for the defendant. Air Herdman said the defence was- that Dr. Raw-son \\a> not guilty of negligence, that it was one of these accidents that, might occur at- any game, and that if the damage was the result of negligence. A'rs Leckie herself contributed towards the accident by her own negligence. Itwent without saying that Dr. Rawson regretted the accident exceedingly. Counsel went on to describe the game- of golf, remarking that a number of instances •were on record of people being injured cither by being hit by a ball or by a club. A* preliminary swing, he urged, was part of the game, whether the game had actually begun or not. Of course a player had to take care, and he would bring evidence to show that Dr. Raw sen did take a look round and saw no one coming. The rules were devised to ensure people keeping away when a person was about to make a stroke. On this occasion; while waiting for play to begin, Dr. Rawson thought he would have a preliminary swing. He had his back to the ladies. Ho had seen them in the distance, hut thought they would cross the stream by the plank bridge and play the last hole over ..there. He would neve!" have dreamt of swinging his club if he had known the ladies were in the vicinity. If he could satisfy the jury that Dr. Rawson looked round to see if anyone was about, he claimed that Dr. Rawson ought to be exonerated from all responsibility. Surely the ladies ought to have given some warning of their approach; they need not have waited for the game to begin, they could simply have a; ked leave to pass behind the player?. If women like to wear a big hat. on a, windy day and run their heads into something, they must take the consequences. DR. RAWSON'S VERSION.

Dr. E. Bawsori, the defendant, sak that as he wa6 going to No. 1 tee he 6av two ladies going towards the eighteentl hole. He took it for granted that the} . •would go straight on, across the plan! bridge, and he put them out of his reck or::ng. He iced his ball, and an argu nicnt took place as to how they were tc play. , While waiting witness turnet away from the ball, and made a swing, To his horror he found he had struck a woman. He had no idea she was there, She said.. "I think I'm dying, doctor.'' She was assisted to the house, ho dressed the wounds, and accompanied her intc town in a motor car., Deforc he struck with the club he looked round, and saw nobody. Mr Gore and others were between him and where the ladies would be, and might have obscured them. He always made a trial swing on first going on to a tee. The route taken by Mrs Leekic and Mrs Young was not usuallv taken when the- tee was occupied. All the women went, over the plank bridge over the creek. It was perfectly easy, and was put there for tho purpose. -Mr Hadiield: If two ladies are approaching and three men seo them and one person does not see them, is it not irresistible that the one man did not look ?—Witness: No. I should say I was not looking in their direction"; I am pei'fecUy cm-Lain 1 did look round. Mr Hadfiekl: Did you not. having been slopped from playing, turn round and give a rapid suing, almost in irritation, without looking round?—No, I was not irritated, and it was not a rapid swing. Can you account for the iaet that you did not seo Mrs Young? —My impression is that when I turned round Mrs Young was at. the side, and not in front. Tho jury inspected the links, and after his Honor had summed up they returned a verdict for defendant. .