Golf Ball Retrieving Alligator Victim Settles...

It seems the lawsuit over the golfer retrieving his ball and losing his arm to an alligator at Fripp Island has been resolved.

Gina Smith reports on the confidential settlement from the 2009 attack.

"My client and I wish Mr. (James) Wiencek all the best in the future," she said Thursday, referring to the victim.

Wiencek, 77 at the time, was visiting his son on the island. They were playing golf on the 11th hole of the island's Ocean Creek Golf Course when Wiencek leaned down at the edge of a lagoon to pick up his ball. Suddenly the 400-pound alligator grabbed him by his arm, according to media reports, and dragged him into a pond.

The reptile went into "death rolls," a technique used to tear apart food. Wiencek's son and other golfers freed him and called 911.

The animal was killed by Tracks Wildlife Control in Beaufort, and the arm was removed from its digestive tract.

It could not be reattached, Chappell said.

"He's got a great attitude," Chappell said of his client, who is still living in Ohio. "But he misses golfing."