Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: Broken window caused by errant golf ball.

The person who hit the ball that should have remained on the green.

Re: Broken window caused by errant golf ball.

The general law on the subject is that the homeowner assumes the risk of damage by living adjacent to the course. Additionally, the golfer is not negligent merely because a shot goes out of bounds. If that were true, then every baseball player to ever play the game would be negligent for hitting a foul ball into the stands. Certainly Tiger Woods hits them out of bounds too every now and then, but he acts as an ordinary reasonable golfer would to play it in bounds. There is clear california case law on these points of law. On the other hand, if the golfer intentionally or recklessly hits a ball at a home, then the golfer may be responsible. Also, there may be rules that members of golf clubs consent to be bound by that contractually put responsibility for damage on the golfer regardless of responsibility under tort law. Check your club rules. I am a golfer known to hit an errant shot or two, so I checked mine!