A group of former players in England are planning to sue the Rugby Football League for negligence over what they say was a failure to protect them from the risks of concussion during their careers.
Bobbie Goulding, Paul Highton and Jason Roach – who’ve all been diagnosed with early onset dementia – are part of the ex-professionals involved.
They allege the governing body did not take reasonable care for their safety while The RFL insists it takes player welfare seriously.
As stated Ex Great Britain scrum half Bobbie Goulding is involved after being diagnosed with early onset dementia, he is hopeful that his condition can be managed.
“Something has not been right for the last three years with massive headaches, depression and forgetting things. They are the three big things that stick out for me, but hopefully we caught it at its beginning and we can get on with things”
Embed from Getty ImagesWe have covered this topic of concussion and dementia on Scoreline quite extensively over the last year. In Rugby we spoke with Professor Damian Baily from the University of South Wales and from a football perspective we spoke with Dr. Willie Stuart after the news broke of Bobby Charlton’s diagnoses. Both interviews are well worth a listen back to understand what work is being highlighted at the base level.
Recently we have seen Kilkenny has joining a baseline concussion testing and treatment programme along with Inter-County players from Wexford, Galway, Mayo, Antrim, Armagh, Donegal, Sligo, and Waterford who will be part of the pilot which begins immediately and runs until after the 2022 Championships.
There was also alot of noise surrounding Johnny Sexton and his consussion issues at the start of the year. His former doctor at Racing 92 Dr Jean-Francois Chermann reckoned that Sexton has experienced more then 30 concussions in his lifetime.
Embed from Getty ImagesNow Leinster forward Caelen Doris has spoken about his treatment for concussion which kept him out of the game for three months.
Following a series of blows to the head, the back row sought treatment in the UK for cognitive issues aroumd short term memory and speech.
Having been named in the Ireland squad for the November internationals, 22 year old Doris is happy to be in a better place.
“I am glad I got the tests, I can always go back and compare in the future if there is worries again or if I get another knock. It was great being back in an Irish jersey for Japan and USA, will crack onto this season, I am feeling pretty good”
Will more sporting organizations experience the same fate of the NFL, who are still stuck in litigation surrounding concussions.
