World rugby union authorities are likely to be forced into immediate safety measures to reduce the risk of lawsuits from current and future players, a leading brain injury lawyer has said in The Guardian.
It quotes lawyer Ipek Tugcu, of Bolt Burdon Kemp, saying that the lawsuit that several former rugby players with dementia are poised to bring against World Rugby, England's Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union could take years to resolve. He warned that the impact on the governing bodies, if found guilty of a breach of their duty of care, would be ‘astronomical’.
‘The financial pay-outs per athlete could easily reach six-figure sums or more as they will need to cover all injuries and financial losses due to the injury,’ Tugcu said. But Tugcu added: ‘Money aside, I would expect very swift and robust changes to be made to the game to fill in any gaps which could leave the governing bodies open to more legal action.’
The length and messiness of the impending lawsuits is likely to play out over a long period, with arguments brought from both sides of the still-fledgling science of neurology.
[link url="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/dec/09/rugby-urged-to-improve-safety-measures-lawsuits-concussion-dementia"]Full report in The Guardian[/link]
See also:
[link url="https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/world-rugby-faces-landmark-class-action-over-neurological-damage/"]MedicalBrief report: World rugby faces landmark class action over neurological damage[/link]