Columbus Man Seeks 1.2 Million Euros for Spinal Injury on Golf Course
Trevor Martin claims a 2014 fall on an embankment at Kilkee Golf Club left him with permanent spinal cord damage, a claim the club trustees deny.
By Emily Brooks ·
A retired brewery manager from Galway is seeking 1.2 million euros in damages from golf club trustees, claiming a fall in 2014 caused a spinal cord injury that requires lifelong independent care.
Trevor Martin, 69, filed the lawsuit in the High Court against three trustees of Kilkee Golf Club in County Clare. The sum of 1.2 million euros includes a substantial portion dedicated to future care costs, which Martin’s legal team says their experts calculated based on his current medical needs.
The incident occurred on August 2, 2014. Martin stated that he hit two golf balls out of bounds onto adjoining land. He left the course to retrieve them. While climbing back up an embankment into the golf course, he fell backwards onto a dyke and struck his head.
Martin lost consciousness during the fall and was airlifted to a hospital. An MRI scan performed after the accident identified a spinal cord injury caused by the trauma, according to his legal team. The club denies negligence but faces the claim that it failed to construct a barrier between the course and the adjoining land or to erect warning signs.
During the trial, Judge Tony O’Connor questioned Martin about the conditions of the fall. Martin described the embankment as being roughly three feet and four or five inches high. He told the judge that a run, skip, and jump would have been enough to clear it. He also noted that his golf shoes had spikes that provided good grip.
The judge asked why Martin, an experienced golfer, did not choose a different route when he found no foothold on the embankment. Martin replied that the club seemed to be forcing players to use a specific path. He also explained why he did not sue the farmer who owned the land where the balls landed. Martin said he instructed his solicitor not to bring a personal injury action against the farmer because he did not want to prosecute an innocent man.
Martin’s barrister, Claire Collins, told the court that the injury has severely limited his activities. She stated that he will need independent care for the rest of his life. Defense barristers Edward Walsh and Paul O’Neill presented video footage filmed by private detectives. The clips showed Martin in public situations with mostly unassisted movements. Martin disagreed with the defense’s interpretation of the footage, asserting that his movements were not unrestricted.
An engineer hired by Martin’s side inspected the seventh hole and its surroundings. The engineer told the court that the green presented a nightmare situation for golfers and was not fair. Martin maintains his claim for 1.2 million euros, stating that this figure reflects the findings of his expert witnesses. The case is ongoing.
