A retired Australian Football League (AFL) player has been awarded a $1.4 million insurance payout after a court recognized a link between his concussions and mental health issues.
MLC Life Insurance found itself on the losing end of the decision when the court found that Shaun Smith suffered “total and permanent disablement” because of the head injuries he sustained during his 11-year career.
While some hailed it as a victory for the plaintiff, others pointed to the nature of the specific policy.
Smith, 51, took out a personal policy from MLC Life Insurance 25 years ago as he embarked on his career. He told the media recently that the effects of the head injuries he suffered are profound.
“I have a bit of a list [of issues],” he told the media. “It does affect you day-to-day. Some days you wake up and you are just not right. You wake up in a fog while other days you wake up and feel fine.
Professor Jack Anderson from the Melbourne Law School at the University of Melbourne suggested that the court’s key determination was that there had been causation.
“In other words, by playing football in the 1980s and 1990s, did that cause measurable brain damage later on in life for the players? This insurance payout is a recognition that there is causation,” Anderson told The Guardian.
Anderson went on to suggest that a class action could be brought “in the near future” associated with AFL players from the 1980s and 1990s, noting that some have been diagnosed post-mortem with CTE.
“When you look at all that, you wonder whether or not, in the same way as the American sports did… whether a settlement or a redress type scheme…based on independent medical assessment of players would be the way to go.”
He continued to elaborate on the impact of the ruling: “What impact will this decision today have on future insurance premiums for all contact sports? Will we see the insurance costs rise as a result of this?”
AFL player agent Peter Jess also predicted future developments, telling abc.net.au:
“I suspect it will be a benchmark in terms of the acknowledgement inside the sporting community that concussion is a disease that creates long-term damage and has the impact of creating a total and permanent disability. It is a not a transitory disease; it is permanent.
“We know that players can be totally and permanently disabled from playing football. Two panels of medical people have looked at Shaun’s case and said the injuries created from playing football were so significant that he’d never be able to work again.”
