ALEX McKinnon has reportedly hired a legal team as he weighs up whether to seek compensation over a tackle which left the one-time rising NRL star with a spinal injury. McKinnon suffered a broken neck while playing for Newcastle in March last year, when he was on the receiving end of a dangerous throw from Melbourne prop Jordan McLean.
McLean was suspended for seven weeks over the incident.
Fairfax Media is reporting McKinnon is currently weighing up advice on whether to sue the NRL and the Storm for the tackle which prematurely ended his career, though it is understood the 23-year-old is reluctant to follow through on any legal action.
In 2006 former Wests Tigers player Jarrod McCracken was awarded $97,000 in a successful case after he argued his career was ended by a neck injury suffered in a tackle by Storm duo Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai.
McKinnon’s recovery resulted in him standing unaided in January for the first time since the injury.
The backrower also began working for the Knights in a football-related role this year
Replies
The NRL seems to have handled this very well I thought. I'd imagine Alex would have had Permanent Disability Insurance through his club and/or the NRL and s mentioned he's being looked after job-wise by the club.
This was a horrible accident that is quite foreseeable if you play a full contact sport for a profession. All NRL players know they run the risk of career ending injuries every time they hit the park.
Trying to sue sounds like it'll benefit no one but the lawyers involved.
Before the injury, the NRL had a very poor insurance scheme in place. I'm not sure on the workings of it but reports suggested that the coverage was incredibly poor. It's since been addressed.
I don't think he should sue. He's received a lot of support from the NRL and there was no intent in the tackle. May have been different if he was driven with a lot of force into the ground like Jarrod McCracken was. As the judge in the McCracken case said:
"Justice Hulme found both Kearney and Bai intended to injure McCracken in the tackle.
"I do not agree that what occurred was but a normal incident of the game of rugby league," he said in his judgement."
Look at how McCracken is held in the tackle. There seems intent there but the McKinnon one seems more like it's an unfortunate situation.
I think Steve Rogers in 1985 took his injury (swinging arm by Mark Bugden breaking his jaw) to court and why not when the tackle was malicious and ended his career. Does the NRL compensate for a short playing career? Maybe there should be funds for this.
Most of the people who have sued in the past have sued the individual who committed the act of foul play. To sue the NRL you need to prove negligence. Legally I'm not sure how this would be done in the McKinnon case. My first impression is that it would be a tough ask. I don't begrudge Alex for investigating the issue, but it is a far cry yet from actually lodging a suit.
On the other hand, I think the NRL has responded as well as they could have in support of Alex, but this would be irrelevant if the NRL was actually negligent in some way in the first place. Not an easy one to judge from any angle.