Gary Ablett Sr takes Supreme Court action against the AFL

Football icon Gary Ablett Sr is suing the AFL and two football clubs after a shock revelation he has significant brain damage.

Football icon Gary Ablett Sr is suing the AFL and his former clubs, Geelong and Hawthorn.

The Cats legend has taken action through the Supreme Court claiming the league and his former teams failed to protect him from the serious brain damage he now suffers.

The 61-year-old last month opened up on the recent diagnosis and the personal hell he continues to go through as a result of the brain injuries suffered during his 248-game career.

The man popularly referred to as “God” by Geelong supporters revealed he was concussed “8-10 times” before his retirement in 1996.

Ablett’s lawyer Michel Margalit has now told Nine Newspapers his injuries are “clearly as a result of physical trauma caused by concussion”.

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Margalit says Ablett is unable to work and cannot pay for his medical bills because of his “degenerative condition”.

“One of the biggest challenges for Gary is he very much is left without the means and ability to fund the care he now requires, given his condition,” Margalit said.

Gary Ablett Snr with son Nathan. Picture: Mike Dugdale

“This is really why he’s been forced, in a sense, to bring the claim; to be able to afford both the medical expenses and medical care he requires ... and those costs will only continue to increase.

“He really struggles on a daily basis, and it is very typical symptomatology you see from players, or athletes, who suffer these concussion-related injuries around the world.

“There is everything from memory loss to being unable to work and many other symptoms.”

Ablett’s legal team will reportedly argue it was “reasonably foreseeable” for the AFL, Hawks and Cats that he was “vulnerable to the injury of concussion caused by head strikes while playing AFL football”.

Gary Ablett senior attends the State funeral for Jim Stynes at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, Tuesday, March 27, 2012. (AAP Image/POOL/Alex Coppel)

Ablett told the Herald Sun in March his condition has deteriorated as a result of the brain damage and he now has migraines, insomnia, blurred vision, significant memory loss, anxiety, fatigue and severe depression.

His fears about the condition of his brain were confirmed when he underwent an MEG scan in November.

He says the scan showed significant structural and functional brain damage

“I began getting headaches and pressure in the top of my skull around 2010, initially a few days a week,” Ablett snr told the Herald Sun.

Gary Ablett Sr with son Gary Ablett Jr at the launch of their new website.

“It then led to depression, anxiety and extreme fatigue. Under the advice of doctors, I then had numerous scans to try and find the cause of headaches and skull pressure.

“From 2015 onwards, and almost every day, there were signs that things had changed, then about 12 months ago I started getting symptoms that alarmed me to the point where I contacted Peter Jess), whom I’m aware has been a concussion advocate for a number of past players.”

Ablett said he now sees a psychiatrist every month and is on medication to address his headaches and mood.

His revelations come after he was knocked back by the Australian Football League Players Association when requesting to have some of his medical expenses covered.

He says he did not hear back from the AFLPA after informing the association he has ben unable to work in recent months.

His case is another potential legal grenade the AFL is juggling.

The AFL was rocked earlier this year when multiple class action lawsuits were filed against the league with former footballers seeking compensation for brain injuries they suffered during their careers.

Former Western Bulldogs premiership star Liam Picken was among the former players to have taken action against the AFL through the Supreme Court of Victoria. His suit is also seeking compensation from his former club and club doctors over concussions he suffered through his career.

Originally published as Gary Ablett Sr takes Supreme Court action against the AFL