McNabola Law Group obtained a $1.4 million settlement for a 10-year-old boy who sustained a traumatic head injury while attending golf camp in Cook County.
The boy was participating in a weeklong instructional camp at Fresh Meadows Golf Club in Hillside, Illinois, when he was struck in the head with a golf club on Aug. 16, 2018.
During an instructional session that afternoon, a camp counselor directed the 10-year-old and two other boys to position themselves on a tee box on the course. The counselor then took a practice swing from the tee box — hitting the 10-year-old boy in the head with a driver.
“Before swinging a golf club,” McNabola Law Group partner Mark McNabola said, “the camp counselor needed to be certain that every camper was in a safe location. Instead, he failed to follow well-known safety practices and recklessly endangered the young children in his care. This never should have happened.”
The 10-year-old boy sustained a serious head injury, including fractures to his right orbital roof, frontal bone and sinus walls. He underwent surgery to remove depressed bone fragments and required plastic surgery to close a facial laceration. The boy was subsequently diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
McNabola Law Group in December 2018 filed a lawsuit on behalf of the boy and his family. The lawsuit names as defendants U.S. Sports Camps, Inc., which conducted the summer camp, and Evergreen Alliance Golf Limited, LP, which owns Fresh Meadows Golf Club, located at 2144 S. Wolf Rd. in Hillside.
McNabola Law Group retained a nationally renowned golf instructor who teaches hundreds of children each year. The firm successfully proved that basic safety standards were not met.
McNabola and firm partner Don McGarrah in September 2020 negotiated a $1.4 million settlement in the case with the assistance of retired Judge William E. Gomolinski of ADR Systems.
The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and was subsequently remanded to the Circuit Court of Cook County after two additional defendants were added to the lawsuit.
