The Rugby world is again at the epicenter of concussion litigation, after 55 former amateur players initiated litigation against the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and World Rugby last month.
Among the plaintiffs were retired female internationals, elite players from the amateur era, former youth players, and the family of a single deceased male player who was diagnosed with CTE postmortem.
The current lawsuit comes after more than 200 rugby players sued World Rugby,
RFU and WRU last fall, alleging that the governing bodies were negligent in that they did not do enough to protect the players from brain injury.
Rylands Garth, which is representing both groups of plaintiffs, made similar allegations in both suits, that the negligence of the defendants led to a wide range of neurological impairments.
Richard Boardman, a partner at Rylands Garth, told The Guardian that “It doesn’t matter what level of the game you played or are playing at, whether it’s at school or adult rugby, and as a professional or amateur, male or female, we are sadly seeing the same alarming neurological impairments at all levels of the game.”
As for the neurological impairments, Boardman identified them as “chronic depression, aggression and violence, significant memory loss, incontinence, drug and alcohol addiction, and in some cases, failed suicide attempts.”
The plaintiffs are seeking to secure compensation for damages and steps that would change the game to make it safer for current and future generations.
In a joint statement about the latest lawsuit, the RFU, WRU and World Rugby said: “Rugby is a sport that provides many lifelong health and wellbeing benefits for participants at every level. It is loved by millions of current and former players around the globe.
“We care deeply about every member of the rugby family and have been saddened by the brave personal accounts of former players who are struggling with any health issues. We want them to know that we care, we listen, and we never stand still when it comes to rugby being the most progressive sport on player welfare.
“Acting on the latest science, evidence and independent expert guidance, we constantly strive to safeguard and support all our players – future, current, and former. Rugby is a leader in the prevention, management and identification of head impacts and we proactively fund transformational research, embrace innovation and explore technology that can make the sport as accessible, inclusive and safe as possible for all participants.”
