Concussion Lawsuit

[CROWS08]

http://www.penandpapersports.com/document.php?docID=896

How long till we see a story like this with AFL players?
I think the AFL are already worried about this with all the rules around protecting the head.

 

[radiojake]

jesus christ...

any footballer (NFL or AFL) who doesn't realise the risk they put their bodies under when they play professional sport are morons... I always thought half the reason why their salary was so high was in some way connected to the abuse they put their bodies under.....

I guess clauses in player contracts that remove a players ability to sue the AFL over injuries sustained is the next course of action?

 

[Go the Guts]

Does anyone in this world take responsibility for their own choices anymore? Football comes with risk, including head injury. Blaming someone else for choosing to play football and earn a squillion dollars whilst doing it.....just a snapshot of how litigious our society as become. The underlying theme in many minds these days is....... someone else has to pay.

 

[scottwade]

http://www.penandpapersports.com/document.php?docID=896

How long till we see a story like this with AFL players?
I think the AFL are already worried about this with all the rules around protecting the head.

A RECENTLY retired AFL footballer is seeking compensation from his former club after he was diagnosed with brain damage linked to the multiple concussions he sustained during his career.
Daniel Bell, who played 66 games for Melbourne before being delisted last year, has lodged a claim with the AFL Players Association after a neuropsychologist found his cognitive function had deteriorated significantly and linked this to his history of concussions.

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Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/former-afl-player-seeks-compensation-20110330-1cgf7.html#ixzz1yR5vWrcR​

The lawsuits are somewhat different but they focus on 3 things;
did the player(s) get appropriate medical care
were the players made aware of the risks if they continued to play after receiving concussions and crucially in the NFL case was the NFL aware of the risks, but deliberately failed to inform the players and continued to operate under rules that raised the risk of concussion.

Memory loss, dementia, suicide and other 'side effects' have all been linked to concussions.

Fairly serious issues I would have thought and not issues that players would necessarily have been aware of when they played.

Both the AFL & NFL have now made rule changes to protect the head.

 

[jonbe54]

If you have a rules committee which rewards players diving head first into packs with free's you are going to get player concussion and maybe worse. It's on the increase round by round, the players know they'll get the free so if they are out positioned leading into the contest they drop the head and get rewarded. Just a matter of time until we have another Neil Sasche incident and in all likelihood the player will sue the sh1t out of the AFL.

 

[Slattery_20]

It's a workplace.
The AFL have an obligation to do everything they can to inform & protect their employees, same as any workplace.
There is some risk inherent, but also some that can be minimised.
Hence why the head's sacrosanct, hence why they brought in the (much needed) concussion rule immediately prior to the season last year.