Maison Law represents victims injured in golf cart accidents and helps them secure the recovery support they need. You may be hurt by the driver of a car or by the reckless actions of someone driving the golf cart you are in. You could also suffer injuries as a golf cart passenger, due to the negligence of a golf resort. If you suffer a serious injury, contact a skilled California Golf Cart Accident Lawyer and schedule a free consultation. It’s a no-risk way to determine what your injury is worth and how to hold a negligent driver or business owner responsible.
Do I Need a Lawyer After Getting Hurt as a Passenger in a Golf Cart Accident?
If your injuries are very minor, you probably won’t need the help of a lawyer. If you heal up from some soreness or some bruising in a few days, there’s probably no grounds to file an injury claim.
But if you suffer a serious injury like a broken arm or head trauma due to someone’s mistake, you should talk to a California Golf Cart Accident Lawyer about your options. Insurance companies for motor vehicle operators like to question everything about your case when they realize your injury recovery will be costly. You’ll need a skilled lawyer on your side to make sure they can’t blame you for what happened or try to downplay how badly you are hurt to avoid having to pay out fair support.
Common Golf Cart Passenger Injuries
A regular golf cart isn’t usually allowed on city streets and for that reason, they don’t come with any safety features like cars and SUVs. A larger, faster type of cart, the Low-Speed Vehicle (LSV) is allowed on some California roads, and that’s why it comes with seatbelts and a windshield.
Check out our page on the types of roads Golf Carts are allowed on in California.
Unfortunately, anyone in an open-air cart is vulnerable to any collision with a full-sized vehicle or another cart no matter how many safety devices are included. Passengers can be sent into a canopy support or even thrown from the cart to suffer an impact with the ground.
These forces can put the human body in extreme danger and cause these and other injuries:
- Brain and head trauma: From concussions to more serious Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). A fractured skull can lead to brain bleeding and life-threatening consequences.
- Whiplash: Muscles, ligaments, and nerves in the neck are damaged when the head is thrown back and forth suddenly. Especially frequent when a golf cart is struck from behind.
- Back and spine injuries: Lumbar injuries and disc damage can all occur when blunt force trauma is applied to the back. Spine damage can cause permanent mobility issues.
- Broken bones: Bones can fracture into several pieces that don’t always heal back together correctly. Victims sometimes need surgery months or years later to correct issues.
- Soft tissue injuries: Organs, muscles, tendons, and ligaments might all suffer damage in a Golf Cart Accident.
Who Can Be Held Responsible If I’m a Passenger Hurt in a Golf Cart Accident?
When you hop on board a golf cart owned by a friend or you get a ride on a resort-owned golf cart, there may be many parties who are responsible for your safety. Drivers and businesses all owe you a “duty of care” when they invite you into the golf carts and into a golf course.
This legal duty means they must act to keep you safe at all times. If they neglect this duty and end up causing you harm, those individuals or businesses can be held fully liable for your recovery costs.
These are a few of the most common parties responsible for California golf cart accidents and injuries:
- Golf resort or vacation resort: The company that owns, operates, and rents out carts can be held responsible if a cart isn’t properly maintained and it causes a crash. Resort owners would also be liable if they created a hazard on a golf path that they didn’t warn anyone about.
- Car driver: Golf Carts are allowed to use road lanes in some communities. Drivers are supposed to monitor for vulnerable golf carts on any road, but they can get distracted or reckless and cause dangerous high-speed impacts.
- Another golf cart driver: Another golf cart driver may be drinking and driving or otherwise acting carelessly and striking a golf cart.
- The Driver or owner of the golf cart you are in: The driver who takes the wheel of a golf cart and invites you aboard also owes you a duty of care. They shouldn’t put passengers at unnecessary risk.
Asking for Accident Support from an At-Fault Golf Cart Driver You Know
If you are hurt as a passenger in a golf cart, the driver may be somebody you know. The driver may even be a family member. In some cases, you could have to file a claim against the person’s liability insurance.
You may feel conflicted about filing an insurance claim against someone you know. Keep in mind that in most cases those claims would target the driver’s insurance provider and not the driver. The driver also pays insurance premiums to help people who are hurt in vehicle accidents. If the driver is someone you know, they would not want you to lose your savings trying to pay for a recovery from an injury they caused.
After you are hurt, you may be overwhelmed by your medical bills and also be without paychecks while you are out of work. You’ll need to seek support to help you survive financially while you heal. These are just a few of the things that determine the size of the settlement check you should receive:
- Medical expenses.
- Costs associated with a permanent physical disability. These devastating injuries often earn a lifetime of financial assistance.
- Physical pain and suffering.
- Emotional anguish. The mental trauma of an accident and the pain suffered during recovery. Memories of the crash could leave you with anxiety and PTSD symptoms. A loss of enjoyment of life over an injury may cause long-term depression.
- Damage or destruction of property.
- Income you’ve lost from missing work.
- Wrongful death benefits. When a family loses a loved one in a golf cart accident, close relatives can file a wrongful death lawsuit. This lawsuit asks for help with funeral costs and remaining medical bills. This civil claim also seeks to protect the family in the future when they’ll be without the financial support the victim would have provided.
Contact a Golf Cart Accident Lawyer
After a serious golf cart accident, please rely on an experienced California golf cart accident lawyer to handle your case and protect what’s important to you.
Insurance companies aren’t required to tell you about every benefit available to you. When you aren’t informed of your rights, you can lose out on valuable resources and end up paying for a large chunk of your recovery costs out-of-pocket.
That should never be the case when you are put through such a traumatic accident through no fault of your own. Take advantage of a free case consultation with Maison Law. This case evaluation comes with no obligation to you or your family. Make sure you are treated fairly and receive the support you need to fully recover and get back on your feet and back on a golf course.
