‘Too hard’: Former AFL footballer initially told to drop case against club

A former AFL player suing his old club claims he was told by lawyers it was “too hard and too expensive” to go up against them.

Ty Zantuck is suing the Richmond Football Club over a back injury.

A former Richmond Football Club player suing the club over a debilitating back injury has claimed he waited over a decade to launch a lawsuit due to warnings it was “too hard and too expensive” to go up against the AFL club.

Former player Ty Zantuck is suing the club and three doctors over claims they breached their duty of care in the treatment of his back injury, when he played for the club between 2000 and 2004.

His lawyers allege doctors gave Zantuck more than 20 epidural injections to numb the pain and that the club forced him to take part in demanding training exercises that worsened his condition.

Adding to the claim into the case on Thursday, his lawyers said Zantuck sustained multiple concussions during his time with RFC, which had led to brain trauma, and alleged the club had further breached its duties for allowing Zantuck to continue to train.

During a Supreme Court hearing into the case on Thursday, lawyers cross-examining Zantuck questioned why it had taken the 39-year-old more than a decade to file a lawsuit.

Zantuck said he had approached law firm Slater and Gordon for a consultation, who told him they would not take on the case.

“They agreed the treatment was wrong and that they had some other players that had approached them about injections with other injuries,” he told the court.

“They told me they believed me and felt terrible for me, but they basically said it’s too hard, too lengthy and too expensive to go up against the AFL.”

Ty Zantuck alleges the club breached its duty of care when dealing with a back injury he acquired through the sport.

Zantuck first started experiencing back pain in 2001, a year after he joined the club.

Zantuck experienced minor disc pain in 2001, before the pain in his back escalated in 2002.

He claims he had severe back pain about two weeks before a rigorous training camp at the Grampians, where he was made to wear a heavy backpack.

This pain continued to escalate and he was diagnosed with a slipped disc and stress fractures in his back.

When the 2002 season began, Zantuck said he received regular injections to numb the pain to allow him to play a full game.

The court heard Zantuck has had over 15 surgeries on his back and has been on high doses of pain medication for around a decade.

His lawyers claimed his injury had caused him to develop depression and that he’s been unable to hold down employment.

His injury has led to 15 surgeries and him taking pain medication for the last decade. Picture: Supplied

The court heard he moved from RFC to the Essendon Football Club, where he was in too much pain to perform.

“I explained to the medical staff that that’s what was getting me up at games with Richmond,” he told the court.

“I was really concerned that I’d even be able to play one game, to play an actual proper game without my whole body being numb. That was the only thing getting me up to play.”

Zantuck played briefly for Essendon before his body forced him to retire from the profession.

The court heard Essendon had refused to administer the pain-relief injections, which led Zantuck to believe the RFC had made major errors in its treatment of him.

During the cross-examination, Zantuck was pressed on his medical records and if his memory could recall important events.

When the defence highlighted differences in Zantuck’s accounts and medical documents presented before the courts, Zantuck claimed the documents had been lost.

He said there were more injections and medical appointments for his back than were being presented by the defence to the court.

“The reason we’re here is for my back, and the fact that there (aren’t) any records on my back just goes to show they’re handing you what you want. I’ve tried to chase them down,” he said.

“If you’d actually had (an epidural), then you’d know the excruciating pain to go through one of them; it’s pretty hard to make up that many. I’m still pretty traumatised by the whole thing.”

Defence lawyer Neill Murdoch replied: “any chance your memory might not be accurate in these matters?”

“No,” Zantuck said.

“My story has not deviated since 2005. You can ask me as many questions as you like; questioning me about dates and times – I’m just telling you how it is.”

The cross examination continues.