Massive TBI Verdict Against Topgolf! with Chris Hammons & Anne Foster
Topgolf was warned in 2012. A risk manager photographed the exact spot, flagged it, recommended safety barriers. Almost a decade later, a nine-year-old boy was struck in that same spot at a Portland birthday party and left with a traumatic brain injury — three metal plates now holding his skull together. Anne Foster, founding member of Smith Foster King in Portland, tells guest host Chris Hammons how she built the case around a decade of ignored warnings, turned Topgolf's own marketing tagline against the blame-the-parents defense using focus groups, and forced Topgolf to pay the full verdict plus an undisclosed amount to avoid punitive damages. Train and Connect with the Titans☑️ Anne Foster | LinkedIn☑️ Smith Foster King | LinkedIn☑️ Chris Hammons | LinkedIn☑️ Laird Hammons Laird Law | Instagram | LinkedIn☑️ Trial Lawyers University☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTubeEpisode SnapshotAfter 25 years defending at Dunn Carney in Portland, Anne transitioned to plaintiff's work and found it transformed her career: "I found my life's dream. It wasn't just being in the courtroom, but I was actually helping to change people's lives."On Veterans Day 2021, a nine-year-old boy attending a birthday party at Topgolf Portland was struck in the head by a golf club — suffering a fractured frontal lobe requiring three permanent metal plates — when Topgolf's Bay host failed to provide the required safety tour to any of the bays that day. Philadelphia Insurance's risk manager had visited Topgolf locations as early as 2012 and recommended installing physical barriers, even photographing people standing exactly where the boy was later struck; Topgolf was told more than 10 times to put up a railing and never did, even as the chain expanded from a handful of stores to 100 locations nationwide. Anne found Topgolf's own website marketing language for kids' birthday parties — "You invite the kids, we'll take care of the rest" — and tested it in focus groups; skeptical mock jurors who had blamed the parents immediately shifted when confronted with that phrase. West Coast incident data produced in discovery showed hundreds of injuries over five years, the majority involving children, with 90% being strikes to the head and neck. To convey the brain injury's impact to the jury, Anne went beyond medical evidence — using adult family friends who were both teachers to testify about the boy's behavioral changes, and building the examination around stories she could reference visually in closing. Topgolf ultimately paid the full jury verdict plus an additional undisclosed amount rather than proceed to a punitive damages trial; the resolution followed a jury finding that the boy had done nothing wrong. Produced and Powered by LawPods
