A Portland jury has ordered Topgolf to pay nearly $16 million to the family of a nine-year-old boy who was struck in the head by a club at a Hillsboro, Oregon, Topgolf location in 2021, leaving the child with a fractured skull and brain injury.
The jury of eight returned a verdict totaling $15.8 million — $12.5 million for pain and suffering and $3.3 million for economic damages — after a nearly two-week trial in Portland, according to court filings and reporting. The verdict assigned 97% of the fault to Topgolf and 3% to the two men who hosted the birthday party the boy attended.
The boy, identified in court records as Henry Thomsen, required surgery that involved the placement of three titanium plates, the family's lawyers said. Testimony during the trial included medical expert accounts of the severity of Henry’s injuries and eyewitness descriptions of the incident at the Hillsboro Topgolf, where the child had been attending a friend’s birthday party.
Plaintiffs’ counsel Anne Devlan Foster urged jurors to award $34 million, arguing that Topgolf had a record of similar incidents and failed to prevent dangerous conditions for children. A Topgolf risk consultant, Ken Bolton, testified that patrons being struck by swinging clubs — frequently in the head or face — was the venue’s most significant safety issue. An analysis presented during the trial of two Topgolf locations, Roseville, California, and Hillsboro, found 27 reported incidents of guests being struck by clubs from 2019 through 2021, according to local reporting.
Topgolf’s defense, led by attorney Heidi L. Mandt, argued the company had implemented multiple safety measures to protect patrons, including a 4-inch-wide red line painted on the floor, signs warning customers to remain behind the line, and recurring audio warnings over the sound system. Mandt also argued that the party hosts bore responsibility for the boy’s presence near active swingers. Testimony during the trial, however, reportedly indicated that staff did not give a required safety briefing to the party guests before they began swinging clubs.
As the judge read the verdict, Kristina Thomsen embraced her husband in the courtroom, according to reports. Foster said the family was “thrilled the jury heard what we were saying” and that the outcome should prevent similar incidents. Mandt left the courtroom after the verdict and did not comment, while news outlets reported attempts to reach the family and the company for further comment.
The case will be part of the public record for civil liability involving recreational-venue safety and may prompt renewed attention to practices at entertainment establishments that allow free-swinging golf clubs in areas accessible to children. The jury’s decision underscores how juries can apportion fault and award damages in personal-injury suits brought in state courts.
Court records show the trial’s evidence included medical testimony about the child’s injuries and surgical interventions, testimony by venue staff and consultants, and statistical analysis of prior incidents at the locations examined. The docket does not indicate any immediate post-trial settlement; appeals or further legal filings are common in such verdicts but, as of the verdict, no appeal had been announced publicly.
The coverage of the case cited local reporting and court filings for details on the incident, the trial and the verdict.