Damian Horan and Anna West secure landmark judgment for a young mum who sustained a spinal cord injury as a result of a dangerous tackle during a rugby match.

This ground-breaking case is said to be one of the first of its kind. The case will now expand the remit for sporting injury claims and clarifies the application of the previous case law surrounding sporting injuries.

Background

Our client was a 29-year-old mother who had joined a local woman’s rugby team as a hobby. The team were made up of people who had never played the game before to have fun and keep fit. Our client had been involved in three friendlies before the team entered a developmental league. The first league match took place in October 2017. Our client’s team were winning and towards the end of the match, our client was tackled in a dangerous manner which caused her to sustain a spinal cord injury, resulting in paraplegia.

Due to the unusual manner in which her injuries were sustained, it was not possible to agree financial support with the insurer at an early stage. This meant that our client endured a lengthy hospital stay and was discharged with NHS support. Fortunately, our client was entitled to funding from the Injured Player’s Foundation. This meant that she was able to purchase a home and install a through floor lift to allow her access.

Whilst our client settled into her changed life as a wheelchair user with limited private funding, the team at Aspire Law started work to gather evidence in an attempt to establish liability. There were a large number of witnesses to the incident (a whole rugby team in fact!) and everyone was very keen to help. Therefore, it was a lengthy process to compile their accounts and cross check the information provided. The game was videoed by our client’s club for development purposes and the whole incident, including some relevant instances leading up to the tackle, were captured on film. When the footage was made available, this then had to be crossed checked with the accounts provided by the witnesses and sent to an expert to obtain an opinion.

The case

We contended that there was a ruck shortly before the dangerous tackle; that the ball was still in the ruck and that the defendant therefore came from an offside position allowing her to be within closer proximity to our client than the Laws of the game permitted. This was disputed.

Immediately before the tackle, our client bent down to retrieve the ball from the ruck and was in the acting scrum half position, fully bent at the waist. We claimed that this left her in an extremely vulnerable position with her head, neck and back exposed. We further suggested that our client was not in possession of the ball, as she was not carrying the ball, which meant that she should not have been tackled at this time. This was disputed. Finally, the case was that the tackle executed upon our client was dangerous due to the manner and nature of which it was performed.

The witnesses

Evidence gathered from witnesses illustrated that there was bad feeling between the teams prior to the match and suggested that our client was targeted due to her ability. The witnesses also described a number of previous incidents involving the defendant in both the match in which our client was injured, leading up to the tackle which caused her spinal cord injury, as well as in previous matches.

The expert

Aspire Law instructed eminent former Referee, Ed Morrison, to review the footage and provided an initial opinion. His view, following a review of the footage was that this was a dangerous tackle which illustrated a reckless disregard for our client’s safety. His opinion was primarily that the tackle should not have been made as our client was not in possession of the ball, and furthermore the manner in which it was made was dangerous. Mr Anthony Spreadbury, was instructed on behalf of the defendant and, when giving evidence at Trial, conceded that our client was not in possession of the ball when she was tackled and that the tackle itself was dangerous.

The future

It is hoped that there will be clarification surrounding safety in the game of rugby going forward. As Mr Morrison says: “At grass roots level, rugby should be a fun sport for all with safety being paramount”.

Now that judgment has been secured, Aspire Law has pressed for an interim payment to enable our client vital funds to enable her to engage support and rehabilitation as well as assist with all aspects of her daily living.

Here’s what our client had to say:

“I am grateful for today’s ruling and to finally put to bed all of the untruths and fabrications surrounding what happened during the game that day. Learning to live with my life changing injuries has been difficult and something I could not have done without the support of my family and close friends.”

“Sport has always given me great pleasure in life, and I don’t blame the game of rugby for what happened that day. Ultimately, I feel I was let down by improper and poor behaviour from the opposing player, coaching staff and the referee.”

“With the unparalleled support of my legal team, I hope I can use my injury and the outcome of today’s trial to raise awareness of the dangerous lines that shouldn’t be crossed when playing sport – no matter the level.”

Here’s what Damian Horan, Legal Director at Aspire Law, had to say:

“I am delighted we were able to secure this outcome for such a deserving client. It was a very difficult and challenging legal case but it underlines the importance of choosing a specialist spinal cord injury solicitor. I would like to thank the brilliant Rob Weir KC for his superb work over the duration of the case”.

Here’s what Anna West, Senior Solicitor at Aspire Law, had to say:

“It’s been a pleasure to secure judgment on this case after such a long time for a very deserving client who has been extremely patient, focused and strong throughout this difficult process. I now look forward to working together to implement the support our client has waited to so long for and to ensure she has the best possible future with her wonderful family and friends”.