More than 1,000 former rugby players in concussion lawsuit
The number of former rugby players taking legal action against sports governing bodies on claims they suffered brain injuries during their careers has grown to more than 1,000, a British law firm said on Monday.
Rylands Garth, based in London, said more than 520 ex-players from rugby union and rugby league joined the lawsuit by Friday last week, which was the deadline for new applicants set by a court ahead of a hearing in July and before the case potentially goes to trial next year.
It takes the total number of players who are part of the lawsuit to approximately 1,100, Rylands Garth said in a statement.
The former players contend, according to Rylands Garth, that 'rugby governing bodies failed to take reasonable action to protect them from the impacts of concussive and sub-concussive blows during their playing careers, despite knowing of the risks.'
Claimants are seeking compensation from World Rugby, the English Rugby Football Union and Welsh Rugby Union — governing bodies in 15-a-side rugby — and the English Rugby Football League and British Amateur Rugby League Association — from 13-a-side rugby league — for lost earnings, medical bills and care costs associated with their injuries, the firm said.
'Rylands Garth is also calling for urgent and substantive reform of the game to better protect the safety of current and future players — including the creation of an independent brain health ombudsman for the sport,' it said.
Among those to have previously joined the class action was World Cup-winning former England hooker Steve Thompson, former New Zealand prop Carl Hayman and former Wales flanker Alix Popham.
'This surge in claimants exposes the deep-rooted issues in rugby,' Rylands Garth said, adding: 'Players continue to play almost all-year round, with many elite players soon to embark on extremely physical summer tours across the rugby world. We will continue to fight for justice for those who gave so much to the game.'
In a joint statement issued by World Rugby, the RFU and the WRU, the governing bodies said they 'are aware of the latest update shared by the claimants' legal representatives with the final number of claimants.'
'We now await full details of their diagnosis and the claims being made. Our thoughts are with any former player facing challenges.
'Across the game, we continue to build on a strong foundation of world-leading initiatives designed to make rugby union as safe as possible.'
That includes 'smart mouthguard technology in the elite game, trials of lower tackle height in the community game, and the continued rollout of brain health services to support former players.'
Rylands Garth said it also represents approximately 130 former soccer players who are taking similar legal action against soccer governing bodies. The next court hearing for the soccer case is due on June 26.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
London police officer charged with assault and suspended with pay
Court documents detailing allegations against a senior member of the London Police Service have been obtained by CTV News. Court documents detailing allegations against a senior member of the London Police Service have been obtained by CTV News. The 25-year Insp. Ryan Scrivens was arrested in February and charged with assault in May, related to an incident in Ottawa. According to the documents, he's also been charged with assault related to an incident in Toronto from last November. Scrivens is currently suspended with pay, and his next court appearance is in Ottawa later this month. London and Ottawa police are refusing to comment on the case.
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
London's commemoration of Afzaal family
Hundreds gathered at a vigil Friday night in London, Ont., to commemorate four years since the brutal killing of the Afzaal family. 'It's so important for us to remember what happened, to remember this family and recommit to standing united against all forms of hatred, including Islamophobia,' said Amira Elghawaby, a Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia. The family was out for an evening walk on June 6, 2021, when they were run over by Nathaniel Veltman, who was later convicted of first-degree murder and deemed a terrorist by the courts. 'It happened because they were Muslim which is deeply, deeply painful for Canadians across the country and of course London Muslims,' said Elghawaby. Advocates expressed events like this one help bring the community together, show solidarity and respect for human rights. 'This is really a whole of society issue that all Canadians benefit from supporting and addressing,' said Elghawaby. The Youth Coalition Combating Islamophobia organized the event, to ensure no other families are destroyed as a result of hate. 'We believe that silence is an enabler of hatred,' said Malik Khandakar, YCCI communications director. 'We feel the signs you give are an agreement and if you don't speak up against hatred this allows people to think it's ok.' Khandakar said more must be done to put an end to Islamophobia. 'We feel it needs a larger community because we can't just speak for ourselves. We need to have other people come out and gather. That's an important aspect of how we can move forward,' said Khandakar.
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
Accountant hired by Ramal to confirm accuracy of campaign finances fined by CPA Ontario
The Khalil Ramal election spending scandal reveals his auditor was not licenced and has faced discipline for involvement. CTV London's Daryl Newcombe reports. Salah Hassan's failure to cooperate with an investigation by Chartered Professional Accountants (CPAs) of Ontario has resulted in fines and penalties totaling $13,500 from the profession's disciplinary committee. Hassan provided a written auditor's report confirming the 2022 campaign finances of former mayoral candidate Khalil Ramal. Every candidate who receives contributions or incurs expenses in excess of $10,000 must attach an auditor's report to their financial filing. In August 2023, an anonymous complaint to CPA Ontario, a professional regulatory body, alleged Hassan's work confirming the accuracy of Ramal's campaign finances 'did not meet the standards of the profession'. It cited a story from August 2, 2023 that appeared on CTV News about a meeting of London's Compliance Audit Committee. The news story referred to the unsigned auditor's report included in the campaign's financial filing. The unsigned document read: 'Hi, I am Salah Hassan a Chartered Professional Accountant Licensed by Professional Accountants of Canada, license number 2086643. According to the information provided by Mr. Khalil Ramal, the Mayoral candidate for the City of London, Ontario, for the year 2022 election, after examining the bank statement, donation expenses and Form 4, it appears to me that all the information are correctly entered in the Financial Statement - Auditor's Report candidate - Form 4n. Best regards, Salah Hassan, CPA." 060625 - Ramal Audit Report included by Khalil Ramal with his 2022 campaign finances. (City of London) In September 2024, a ruling by the CPA Discipline Committee determined Hassan committed professional misconduct by not responding to multiple emails and telephone messages from its investigator. 'The nature of the misconduct, being the Member's complete failure to respond to the inquiries of Standards Enforcement, raised concerns about public confidence in the profession's ability to govern its own members,' the ruling reads. He was fined $5,000 for failing to cooperate with a regulatory process plus he was required to pay $8,500 in fees for the hearing. Eventually Hassan contacted CPA Ontario and blamed his failure to respond on health issues, an ill spouse, travel, and a misinterpretation: 'I was in the hospital with my wife and I was so busy with her during the month of September and October and I travelled to Egypt on November 1 for emergency family issues and I returned back on December 26, 2023. I did not have my Canada phone number with me. Please note that I did not violate any rules or regulations in my life or caused any harm to any human being or animals on earth.' The ruling by CPA Ontario states Hassan '… blamed CPA Ontario for the harm to his reputation, reflected a completed absence of insight or remorse.' Subsequently, a Compliance Audit of Ramal's campaign finances by William Molson CPA in April found a number of apparent violations of the Municipal Elections Act including not filing the names/addresses of donors who gave over $100, exceeding the candidate contribution limit ($25,000) by $11,916.27, and using an unlicensed accountant to confirm the accuracy of the document submitted to the city clerk. Molson wrote, 'Hassan did not hold a license at March 31, 2022 or March 31, 2023.' The findings of the Compliance Audit are being forwarded to a prosecutor for possible legal action against Ramal. Hassan's LinkedIn page lists his most recent position as Director of Finance for a business called EK Tech Software Solution. A company by that same name is based in Houston, Texas. However, there is a similarly named company called EK Tech Solutions on Waterloo Street in London. When CTV News called the telephone number included on EK Tech Solutions' website— Khalil Ramal answered. After being asked why Hassan described himself as Director of Finance for the company Ramal replied, 'Yes he did, he did it for a while, for three (or) four months. He did what he did, but he didn't finish. I'm not sure what he did do, but he didn't complete the work for us back then.' A week prior, Ramal was asked by the Compliance Audit Committee what steps he took to verify Hassan was a licensed CPA. At the time he responded, 'The person who I went to was the auditor of a company called Global Financial. I met him there. I know him from there. He has, you know, was an auditor. And also I went to him after that three or four times to audit a few companies.' CPA Ontario confirms Hassan is currently an 'active member', but would not disclose the status of the original investigation about whether his work for Ramal's campaign met the standards of the profession. Unable to find a phone number or email address for Hassan, CTV News accepted Ramal's offer to try to provide Hassan with a reporter's contact information. There has yet to be a response from Hassan.
