McKinnon payout could exceed $10m
ALEX McKinnon could expect a compensation payout even greater than the $10 million being spoken of within two years over the tackle that ended his NRL career last year, a leading litigation lawyer says.
On the Nine Network’s 60 Minutes program on Sunday, McKinnon indicated for the first time he was considering legal action over the spinal injury he suffered last year.
Due to the high profile nature of McKinnon’s case and recent charges made to expedite such cases through the Supreme Court, the matter could be settled around two years after the instigation of legal proceedings, lawyer Brett Thomas from leading Sydney firm Macedone Legal said.
“The NRL is vicariously liable for McKinnon’s injuries in the same way an employer can be liable for what their workers do,” Thomas said.
“The NRL takes on responsibility for those things that occur on their football field.”
ON the eve of the State of Origin decider Queensland captain Cameron Smith is fuming at the game’s official TV network over a perceived hatchet job that slandered his reputation without an offer to reply.
Smith yesterday kept a low profile with his young family at Sanctuary Cove instead of confronting the allegations from Alex McKinnon during a 60 Minutes interview that questioned his integrity as a captain and leader.
Smith is shocked and hurt by the allegations. Queensland teammates continued to rally around their skipper yesterday and he received further support from across the code.
Newcastle coach Rick Stone was among those to come to Smith’s defence over his handling of the McKinnon tackle, that left the young Knight in a wheelchair.
McKinnon was also angry Smith hadn’t contacted him since the accident in March last year while his father Scott described Smith’s actions as “unforgivable”.
Stone, who was assistant coach of the Knights at the time, said that Smith was a good person and predicted he would have acted differently had he known the extent of McKinnon’s injury.
“If Cameron had his time again, he might have done a few things differently and maybe Alex might do the same. But it’s a really tough scenario … deep down everyone in the game knows Cameron’s a pretty decent fella,”
“Alex is a champion bloke … he’s a little bit frustrated and angry at the moment, and he should be.”