Page 36 - GBC Summer ENG 2021

When one of the sparks connects to the downward developing channel, a huge, electric current surges rapidly down the channel to the object that produced the charge. Tall objects such as trees and tall structures are more likely than the surrounding ground to produce one of the connecting sparks, and are therefore more likely to be struck by lightning.
SUMMER STORMS
In Canada, lightning kills on average 10 people and injures 164 people each year, with 85% of all thunderstorms occurring in the summer months (June, July, August) and just over 5% occurring in the spring and fall.
July is typically the most active month with thunderstorms occur- ring about two out of every three days somewhere in the country. Thunderstorms can occur at any time of the day, but late afternoon to early evening is the most frequent time, with a second peak of activity just after sunrise in the morning.
Lightning occurs most freq- uently in southwestern Ontario and along the foothills in western Alberta. There are between 10 to 25 days a year with lightning across Canada. Lightning occurrences are rarest near the coasts of Canada and across the far North.
At Lookout Point Country Club in Fonthill, ON, General Manager, Dan Greenwood, is all too familiar with lightning based on their location on the Niagara escarpment, which is known as the Heart of Canada’s Lightning Country. “Over the years, we have been hit by lightning more than a few times, affecting power and some of our mechanical operations. We have also had to replace our well control panel and the pump on two occasions due to a direct hit,” said Greenwood.
About 2,500 kilometres and two provinces west, Dean Brown, Head Professional at Royal Regina Golf Club, deals with the same challenges each and every golf season on the Prairies. “Lightning, quick moving thunderstorms and severe weather is always an issue during the summer months on the Prairies,” noted Brown.
YOUR DUTY OF CARE
The weather can change drastically and without warning, so what duty of care is owed to your golfers during inclement weather? Golf courses, like many businesses, are “occupiers” within the meaning of the various Occupiers’ Liability Acts enforced in a number of Canada’s common law provinces. The duty owed by an occupier of the premises under those statutes
“Lightning occurs
most frequently in southwestern Ontario and along the foothills in western Alberta. There are between 10 to 25 days a year with lightning across Canada.“
is “to take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reason- able to see that persons entering on the premises are reasonably safe while on the premises.”
When a duty of care is owed to a person, and it is breached result- ing in injury or damage, the injured person can sue the occupier for damages. To be successful, the injured party would have to prove that the occupier breached their duty of care owed to the injured party. Merely being injured at a facility that owes a duty of care to its patrons does not equate to a successful claim for damages.
GUIDANCE FROM THE CASE LAW
To date, there has been no reported decision in Canada in which a claim for damages, as a result of a golfer being struck by lightning while on the course, has been made against a golf course owner or operator.
In the United States, there are two appellate court decisions that dealt with the question of whether a golf course had a duty to protect golfers from lightning, namely, Davis v. The Country Club Inc. (1963), and Hames v. State of Tennessee (1990). In these cases, the courts indicated that due to the unpredictability of lightning, golf courses would not be held liable to golfers sustaining injury as a result of being struck by lightning.
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