Footy star launches $5million lawsuit against his old club as he accuses team of shocking act that left him 'comatose' and ended his career
At the crux of the legal claim is a 2017 summer training session that left Perrett unconscious and in hospital after he was allegedly deprived of water and fluids.
Carter Capner Law director Peter Carter said Perrett's career had been cut short by the actions of Manly.
Australian Associated Press has seen the statement of claim lodged in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday.
It focuses on a compulsory pre-season training session at Narrabeen Sports Complex on November 6, 2017 in what Carter said were 'very warm conditions'.
The session involved a warm-up of 20 minutes followed by two 2km time trials which Perrett completed in eight minutes and 23 seconds and 10 minutes and 23 seconds respectively.
Perrett completed one lap of a third 2km time trial before he 'collapsed unconscious to the ground'.
The claim alleges Perrett was 'not supplied with any water or other fluids during the training session because Mr Dan Ferris, the club performance coach, had directed before the start of the session that there would be no water breaks'.
Ferris is no longer employed by Manly.
'During the third time trial Lloyd collapsed and his next memory was waking up in Mona Vale Hospital with a diagnosis of severe heat stroke,' Carter said.
'Despite the injury, Lloyd attempted a comeback, playing (13) games in the 2018 season and (three) in 2019. That was the last time he played NRL level.
'Given he was a very successful player at such an early stage of his career with arguably many good years ahead of him, the potential damages are well into the millions of dollars.'
In the statement of claim, Perrett's lawyers said that Manly owed their client, who had fulfilled all of his contractual duties, a 'non-delegable duty of care' but failed in that duty.
Sixteen breaches are then listed which includes exposing Perrett to 'the risk of exertional heat stress' and placing him in 'a position of peril' by depriving him of water and other fluids during the session.
In a release issued by Carter Capner Law it states that the claim filed 'seeks injury compensation mainly for the loss of income Lloyd could reasonably expected to have received during his promising career'.
Perrett was 24 when he played his last game.
Perrett debuted for Canterbury in 2014 and notched 24 NRL games across three seasons.
On December 9, 2016, Manly announced Perrett had signed a three-year deal with the club from 2017. Carter Capner Law said the deal was worth $500,000 per season.
Perrett was a member of the Queensland emerging Origin squad in 2016 and 2017.
He spoke last year about the long-term mental and physical impacts of the training incident.
'I was comatose,' Perrett said.
'Six out of 10 people die in this situation. That's what the nurse told me when I was in hospital.
'I became much more anxious (afterwards). I was even suicidal at points.
'If it wasn't for my parents, I would have taken my own life. I considered myself to be worthless.'
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