The family of a young golfer who was fatally struck by lightning last year filed a wrongful death lawsuit blaming the golf course for the tragedy.
Raymond Baxter Jr., 29, was struck by lightning on September 12, 2023, at Bentwater Golf Club in Acworth, Atlanta, shortly after teeing off with friends.
The group spotted a fast-approaching storm shortly into their round, and although they began sprinting back to the clubhouse, Baxter was struck before they made it to safety.
Baxter, who was engaged to be married at the time, was hospitalized and died of his injuries three days later, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The golfer’s family argued in their lawsuit filed this week in Paulding County State Court that ‘any reasonable warning would have saved Raymond Jr.’s life.’
It is claimed that the golf club could have avoided the incident with a number of preventative measures, ‘such as weather protocols, lighting prediction or detection systems, warning sirens, or even simply stopping golfers from going off the first tee.’
‘(These measures) are commonplace and expected at golf courses, yet defendants did not take even the most basic of reasonable measures,’ the lawsuit said.
Bentwater Golf Club did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by DailyMail.com.
Raymond Baxter Jr., 29, was struck by lightning on September 12, 2023, at Bentwater Golf Club in Acworth, Atlanta, shortly after teeing off with friends
Baxter, pictured with his grieving widow Katelyn Molina, he was described as a ‘beautiful spirit, funny, strong minded, unselfish, caring, and most of all loved’
The lawsuit was filed by Baxter’s parents Raymond Baxter Sr. and Lisa Baxter, who live in Arkansas, against four companies associated with the club.
The parents claim that after their son was struck by lightning, staff at the golf club waited five minutes before calling 911.
They added that Baxter’s heart stopped as a result of the lightning strike, but the staff did not know whether the club had an automated external defibrillator.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the lawsuit alleges that the club ‘recognized their role in the tragedy’, and ‘offered Raymond’s parents a token amount of several hundred dollars from a collection it took from other members of the Bentwater Golf Club.’
The parents’ attorneys Michael Lonati Jr. and Jason McManis added to the Atlanta Journal that the golf club’s alleged lack of safety equipment is especially egregious because it is in an area with a high level of lightning activity.
‘We think all golf courses should have these types of systems in place to protect their players from weather events like this,’ McManis said.
‘If golf courses start to recognize that they can be responsible for a tragic accident like this, when they could have taken steps to prevent it, that’s going to encourage more golf courses to put these systems in place. And ultimately, that’s the kind of thing that we’re hoping for.’
Baxter and his group reportedly ran back to the clubhouse when they saw a fast-approaching storm, but the young golfer was tragically struck
The lawsuit against Bentwater Golf Club in Atlanta alleges that staff waited 5 minutes to call 911 and did not know if they had a heart defibrillator
Lonati said it is common for golf courses to have some type of lightning protection measures in place, however it is not a legal requirement.
‘Unfortunately, this individual paid his life and the ultimate price for what occurred,’ Lonati added.
In a GoFundMe set up for Baxter’s grieving fiancée, Katelyn Molina, he was described as a ‘beautiful spirit, funny, strong minded, unselfish, caring, and most of all loved.’
‘The two of them had an amazing love for one another and over the past nine years he was her “Person,” her one, and only love,’ the fundraiser read.
Baxter’s family added that he ‘loved life’, and ‘passed away giving the gift of life to so many others through the gift of organ donation.’
