BRAIN INJURY PAYOUT

MARK of the Century highflyer Shaun Smith has been paid out his superannuation a decade in advance because of crippling brain injuries suffered while playing football.

Fund trustees for Cbus Super have agreed to the early release of Smith’s benefit on the grounds of “permanent incapacity”.

The company has accepted independent medical advice that he is incapable of returning to the workforce.

Smith, 50, estimates he was “knocked out cold” 12 to 14 times in his 109-game career with Melbourne and North Melbourne on top of dozens of sub-concussive hits.

The extent of his head trauma was laid bare in private medical files released by Smith last year.

The report described numerous lesions and “deep white matter” on his brain and symptoms including depression, pervasive thoughts of suicide, feelings of hopelessness, social withdrawal, insomnia and poor short-term memory.

He survived a suicide attempt last October and has been under regular care in a Melbourne psychiatric clinic.

“Shaun is the first AFL footballer that I know of who has been assessed as being totally and permanently incapacitated from concussions while playing AFL football,” Smith’s manager, Peter Jess, said.

“This is groundbreaking in the process of establishing causation for any future claims.

“It is a frightening outcome and in my view just the tip of the iceberg. We are starting to see the terrible toll that concussions take.

“Concussion has stripped away his ability to earn a living from any normal day-to-day job.

“He is unable to function at any reasonable level and what it does, in my view, is establish from independent medical experts that there is a clear causation between the multiple concussions he incurred playing AFL football and the traumatic brain injury he now has.”