By Peter Ryan
The president of the AFL Doctors Association fears that clubs will struggle to attract medical staff due to the prospect club doctors will face legal action for doing their jobs.
Dr Barry Rigby, an intensive care doctor who also works with Gold Coast, said recent legal claims that focused on the treatment players received for concussion was causing concern among the ranks and that clarity was needed on the issue.
“There needs to be some resolution of this in order that we can get on and look after the playing group as best we can, but it is going to have an impact, I fear, on people’s willingness to be involved in the sport,” Dr Rigby said.
Club doctors were on the scene quickly when Jeremy Howe broke his arm last Friday night.Credit: Getty Images
He said he was not arguing that doctors should not be held accountable, but they must be made accountable for treating patients appropriately based on the accepted science at the time.
“Their prime consideration has always been the health and welfare of players,” Dr Rigby said.
“What is also unequivocal is that we follow what the scientific recommendations are at the time and some of those can be quite nebulous and not clear-cut, so we have to rely on our clinical judgement to deal with some of those issues.”
Western Bulldogs premiership player Liam Picken lodged a claim last week suing the AFL, the Western Bulldogs and club doctors Gary Zimmerman and Jacob Landsberger, alleging they were negligent and breached their duty of care. Picken retired from the game in 2019 due to concussion.
Former Richmond player Ty Zantuck has also named Tiger doctors, past and present, Greg Hickey and Chris Bradshaw and another doctor, Vincent Healy, in statements of claim that allege his injuries weren’t treated properly during his time at the club. Zantuck played 68 games with Richmond between 2000-2004. Former AFLW player Emma Grant is also taking civil action against Collingwood.
Liam Picken is the latest former AFL or AFLW player to launch legal action over concussion.Credit: Getty Images
Two class actions have also been lodged separately, with Geelong’s Max Rooke being the lead plaintiff in one lodged by Margalit Injury Lawyers. Former Crow Darren Jarman, ex-Demon and Kangaroo Shaun Smith, and the wife of Shane Tuck, a former Richmond player who died in 2020, are among the lead plaintiffs in the other class action lodged by Griffins Lawyers.
The AFL has released updated guidelines for the treatment and management of concussion in the AFL and AFLW, which emphasised the 12-day stand-down period as a minimum requirement as well as arguing for a conservative approach to be taken for people with initial symptoms or a history of concussion.
Concussion advocate Peter Jess has argued the stand-down period should be a minimum of 28 days and that the AFL’s concussion management should be measured on reducing concussion. He argues for rapid point-of-care diagnostics, increased treatment and rehabilitation programs as well as a biomedical and brain-scanning system to constantly monitor the structural and functional integrity of the brain.
The AFL is also awaiting recommendations from the sixth International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport that was held in Amsterdam in October. A senate inquiry into concussions and repeated head trauma in sports is underway with a report due on June 21, 2023.
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