This article is published as part of Capsticks’ Medical Malpractice Forward View 2022.

Concussion injury and its consequences continue to be in the news, with group litigation planned by both rugby and football players. With some medical experts stating that there is clear evidence of a link between concussion injuries in the two sports and the degenerative brain condition CTE, we could see more claims of this nature, including from other sports where head injury is a risk. Causation will be a key argument in any such case but the group litigation has now firmly put this issue front and centre for all sports where there is such risk.

The costs judgment in the case of Hankin v Saracens Rugby Club and others reveals that the claim was settled by a fellow player and a Sports Medicine Physician at a mediation in February 2021. It is a highly unusual case on its facts as the first of two concussions suffered by the Claimant was as a result of a head injury during an off pitch drinking game. The allegation against the physician was in relation to Hankin being diagnosed as fit to play in a game about a month later in which he suffered a second concussion which ended his career. It is the return to play issue which will be the focus of cases relating to concussion. 

Capsticks has worked with a number of elite sports clubs and international organisations to review governance frameworks around clinical risk and litigation management and can provide guidance on this topic.

Medical Malpractice Forward View 2022 

This article is part of Capsticks’ Medical Malpractice Forward View 2022. 

Read the other articles featured in this publication below: 

• Spotlight on two liability decisions to watch out for in 2022
• Fixed recoverable costs in low value clinical negligence claims are on the horizon
• Concussion injury in elite sport will remain in the headlines
• Inquests: failures of care during the pandemic may be scrutinised more closely, but ‘following the science’ will likely continue to be the dominant theme on causation
• Procedures and policies, including national policy decisions, will be central to the defence of Covid-related claims
• The latest on the Covid-19 Public Inquiry
• Learning from the Paterson Inquiry: new legislation on regulation, co-operation between regulators and more
• The rollout of technology to support the delivery of care will continue apace, with data security coming into ever sharper focus
• There is likely to be an increase in the number of clinical trials
• Safety of medicines and medical devices will come under closer scrutiny

Get in touch

Aiming to be the firm of choice for medical malpractice insurers and healthcare providers, we advise and support on all aspect of medical malpractice claims and inquests. 

To discuss how any of these issues may affect your organisation, please get in touch with Majid Hassan, Sarah Bryant or Ed Mellor.