Former NRL player loses $1 million legal battle against rugby league insurer

An NRL player who sued the game’s insurer for $1 million after being forced to retire with a spinal injury which affects one side of his body has lost his case in the Federal Court.

Former State of Origin player and grand final winner Ethan Lowe took Lloyd’s Of London, which underwrites the policy for all NRL players, to the Federal Court in the first case of its kind after he was told he wasn’t covered for injuries stemming from a tackle in a game in 2020.

Lowe described the whiplash effect of a rival player accidentally placing pressure on his head and neck, which he argued in court has left him with life-changing injuries.

He says he struggles to tie his shoelaces, falls over uncontrollably on uneven ground when walking his dog and burns his hand in the kitchen without knowing because he has little sensation down the left side of his body, which includes a “claw” hand.

The NRL’s insurer tendered evidence in court of Lowe jet-skiing and dancing, also raising whether a previous injury sustained in 2016 had contributed to his current condition, as the parties argued over the definition of paralysis under the policy.

Lowe had a claim under the policy for paralysis on side of his body – a condition medically known as Brown-Sequard syndrome – rejected, and sued Lloyd’s Of London on the basis he had satisfied the definition of the underwriter.

Former NRL player Ethan Lowe.Credit: Oscar Colman

The matter was the first action of its kind taken by an NRL player against the insurer under the current policy.

Lloyd’s Of London, which expressed sympathy for Lowe’s condition, disagreed with Lowe’s legal counsel in a two-day hearing last month.

Justice Ian Jackman dismissed Lowe’s application when delivering his findings on Friday, and ordered the former player to pay Lloyd’s Of London’s legal costs.

His judgment described Lowe as an “impressive and credible witness” who gave “truthful and reliable evidence”.

Ethan Lowe during his playing days.Credit: Getty Images

But he also said after accounting for various medical expert testimony and reports, “it is clear on the evidence that Mr Lowe does not suffer from complete or near complete loss of movement down one side of the body, and therefore does not suffer from hemiplegia [paralysis on one side of the body] in the proper medical sense of the word”.

The court heard a doctor at the spinal injuries unit at Princess Alexandra Hospital made notes after a consultation with Lowe in 2022 which included he was going to the gym twice a week and doing one “slow jog” on flat ground.

Evidence also suggested Lowe was still lifting weights in the form of squats and single arm dumbbell presses, but was significantly weaker with his left arm and leg.

Justice Jackman said Lowe’s career-ending injury was “undoubtedly made worse” by a 2016 tackle, which required spinal surgery.

Lowe’s legal counsel argued the 2016 incident was not the cause of his 2020 injury and he had no ongoing symptoms after the operation and made it to Origin level to represent Queensland.

“I am not denying that anyone would feel sympathy for Mr Lowe, given the very substantial reduction in his physical capacity compared to his abilities and talents as a professional sportsman, in addition to the sympathy one naturally feels for Mr Lowe in having had a very successful career as a professional sportsman brought to a premature end,” Justice Jackman wrote.

Lowe, 33, played 143 NRL games and was part of North Queensland’s grand final-winning side in 2015.

But less than a year after his Origin debut, his career was over, prompting a years-long battle for compensation under the game’s insurance policy.

NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.