Ex-bath player Lipman joins legal action on concussions
Former Bath Rugby captain Michael Lipman is one of eight men, including England World Cup winner Steve Thompson and Wales international Alix Popham, who are planning to launch a legal action for negligence against World Rugby, the RFU and the WRU over the effects of concussion.
All eight players in the group are under the age of 45 and have been diagnosed with early onset dementia, which they believe is due to brain injuries suffered while playing rugby.
The eight players are part of a test group and their solicitor Richard Boardman, of Rylands Law, says he is representing more than 100 former professional players who are showing similar symptoms.
According to reports a letter of claim, amounting to millions of pounds in damages, will be sent next week to the governing bodies for English and Welsh rugby and World Rugby - and a group class action could follow.
In response to news of the legal case, World Rugby told BBC Sport: “While not commenting on speculation, World Rugby takes player safety very seriously and implements injury-prevention strategies based on the latest available knowledge, research and evidence.”
Last month Former England international Lipman revealed he was suffering the effects of mild dementia at the age of just 40 after sustaining multiple concussions during his playing career.
Lipman played two seasons for the Bristol Bears, then called the Bristol Shoguns, between 2001 and 2003, before switching to Bath where he stayed until 2009, making more than 100 appearances for the Blue, Black and Whites.
Lipman, who is now 40 and back
in Australia where he grew up, has been working with concussion specialist Dr Rowena Mobbs of Macquarie University, who is a key figure involved with the National Repetitive Head Trauma Initiative.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Lipman confirmed he was knocked out a staggering 30 times during his playing career which also saw him represent Waratahs and Melbourne Rebels as well as winning 10 caps for England in a 13 year professional career.
In 2009, when playing for Bath, Lipman was given medical advice to retire due to concussion, but he played on for another three years before hanging up his boots due to health concerns.
After calling it a day in 2012 at the age of 32, following a season at the Rebels, he said: “The bottom line is that throughout my career I’ve had so many bangs to the head and I’ve had so much concussion ... the last couple have been the icing on the cake.
“I’ve just had too many. Enough’s enough and when you’re body’s talking to you like it is now, you’ve got to listen to it and be sensible because the hardest thing in anything really is to admit that your time is up and to come to terms with it.’’
This week, Thompson, 42, who played every game as a hooker when England won the 2003 World Cup and finished his career with 73 caps for his country, has spoken candidly about his struggles with dementia as has Wales’ Popham.
Thompson said: “I can’t remember any of those [World Cup] games. It’s frightening.”
Former Scarlets flanker Popham, 41, has revealed he has been struggling with memory loss issues and anger.
Popham’s doctor believes he had more than 100,000 sub-concussions in his 14-year career - a staggering number that has affected his memory greatly.
He played 33 games for Wales between 2003 and 2008.
New Zealand prop Carl Hayman is also one of the eight involved in the test case.
Rugby has come a long way in the past decade, with World Rugby implementing harsher penalties for high tackles, with any direct contract to the head warranting a straight red card. It also introduced mandatory Head Injury Assessments when a player has taken a high shot, in 2015.
A player must successfully complete a number of neurological tests before being allowed back onto the field as part of the HIA testing. If they fail they must then complete a number of return to play protocols over the next six days before being signed off to play again for their clubs.
Both Rhys Priestland and Josh Matavesi of Bath failed HIA’S at the weekend after taking blows to the head in the victory against Worcester Warriors.
New concussion protocols mean if a player receives multiple head knocks in the space of six months they must then be rested for six months, as seen last season with Bath centre Jackson Willison who was forced to spend half a year on the sidelines as a precaution.
But despite the advancements rugby remains a dangerous game, with the likes of former Bristol Bears and Bath Rugby centre Will Hurrell forced to retire earlier this year after suffering a stroke following injuries he sustained in a tackle back in January.
He continues to battle with the side-effects and has become a vocal advocate for speaking out about mental health struggles.