Cats premiership player leads concussion lawsuit against AFL, class action asking for $1bn

A class action led by former Geelong star Max Rooke could see the league pay out $1 billion in compensation to injured players.

Max Rooke is the lead plaintiff in the class action against the AFL.

Dual Geelong premiership player Max Rooke has been named as the lead plaintiff in a landmark class action lodged against the AFL which could see the league pay out $1 billion in compensation to injured players.

Rooke, a Cats’ Hall of Fame inductee, is one of more than 60 former players to come forward to join the legal fight which was formally launched in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday.

Melbourne firm Margalit Injury Lawyers have filed the suit on behalf of all professional AFL players who suffered concussion related injuries through head strikes while training or playing AFL between 1985 and 14 March 2023.

The former players are seeking compensation for pain and suffering, economic loss and medical expenses.

Max Rooke and Tom Harley with the 2009 Premiership Cup.

Managing principal Michel Margalit said the class action, which was exclusively revealed by the Herald Sun last month, could see the AFL pay up to $1bn in compensation, adding she hoped the league settled before it was dragged out in court.

“Their football careers (ended) many, many years ago and they don’t have the capacity to work and to pay for their own treatment,” she said.

“We hope the AFL take a sensible position, we encourage them to come forward and engage in proper dispute resolution,” she said.

“It’s unnecessary to have to drag injured people through the courts. But if the AFL won’t be sensible, we will see them in court,” Ms Margalit said.

Lawyer Michel Margalit says she hopes the league settles before it is dragged out in court. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

A similar class action in the US brought by former NFL players resulted in an initial payout of more than US$1bn.

It is alleged Rooke, 41, has suffered permanent, life altering injuries as a result of concussion related injuries, and due to the negligence of the AFL.

Rooke played 135 games for the club and was considered crucial to their 2007 and 2009 premiership wins before announcing his premature retirement in 2010, citing an acute knee injury.

Ms Margalit said the worst-injured players could be looking at more than $2 million payouts and some of the ex-players in the class action suffered depression, memory loss and irritability.

“You have these otherwise strapping fit looking blokes who might be crying in front of you within a few minutes of talking to them,” she said.

Rooke is alleged to have suffered permanent, life-altering injuries as a result of concussions.

The class action would also cover families of players who had died from concussion related injuries.

Ms Margalit said the long-term injuries suffered by the former players include various neurological impairments such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and dementia.

“Some of the players who have joined this landmark class action have never been able to hold down a job after leaving the AFL. Their personal lives have been shattered and they live with constant physical and mental pain.

“They dedicated their lives to the game. Years later, their footy career is a distant memory and they find themselves injured and without the means to care for those injuries. This is despite AFL being one of the biggest economic drivers in the state,” Ms Margalit said.

It comes as the Herald Sun revealed on Tuesday the AFL wanted to be a “global leader” in managing sports-related concussion as it prepared to clarify its position on the link between head knocks and CTE at a Senate inquiry.

The league also announced it will spend $25m on a study to better understand damage from concussions.

Ms Margalit said she welcomed the AFL’s proposed five-year Brain Health Initiative, but said it needed to be vastly different to the sort of research it has engaged in previously.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. These injured players have waited too long. Now is the time to hold the AFL accountable and to seek fair and just compensation.

“The AFL should have taken accountability earlier, rather than these former players having no choice but to seek a remedy for their pain and suffering through the Supreme Court,” she said.

The AFL said in a statement on Tuesday the health and safety of players at all levels of the game was the “key priority”.

“The AFL takes concussion and the protection of the brain health of all those playing our game extremely seriously,” it said.

“The AFL has made more than 30 changes to concussion protocols, tribunal guidelines and on-field rules over the past two decades to further protect the head and annually updates the concussion guidelines to improve the response to head knocks in our game in accordance with current and evolving science.

“Today we launched updated concussion guidelines for the elite game, where players that are diagnosed with concussion must pass the 11-steps of the return to play protocol of over a minimum of 12 days in order to be medically cleared to return to play. If players experience symptoms at any stage, they must return to the previous stage until they are symptom-free.

“The AFL has also released today the strategic plan for sport-related concussion in Australian Football to guide the research and management of concussion whilst preserving the fabric of our game.

“The AFL currently employs three people specifically to work on brain health initiatives and is currently seeking another person to administer our past player program and we continue to strengthen protocols and the education of clubs and players as to why this issue is taken so seriously.

“In regard to today’s reported class action we are yet to receive any formal correspondence.”