Law firm steps in to take on rugby-injuries case
A fresh legal team has stepped forward to take on dozens of head-injury claims brought by former rugby players against governing bodies, according to the England-and-Wales Gazette.
Group-litigation specialist KP Law has confirmed it has been instructed by the claimants in both the rugby union and rugby league brain-injury litigation, taking the place of Rylands Garth.
It was revealed last month that Rylands Garth had come off the record and national firm Leigh Day was considering whether it could take over the claim, having been drafted in as consultant in February this year to advise on the cases.
The Gazette says that Leigh Day will remain involved as consultant to KP Law, which is now acting as lead firm on the group litigation.
‘Fractious’ relationship
The court continues to consider an application from the defendants for a strike-out of most individual cases.
The Gazette says that it remains to be seen whether the rugby claims will survive the strike-out application, which was heard shortly before the summer break last month.
The court heard that the relationship between the parties was increasingly fractious: lawyers for the claimants said that the six governing bodies had “lost sight of the reality of their actions” and questioned their commitment to welfare of players.
The defendants submitted that the claimants had repeatedly failed to disclose medical records as required and failed to respond to reasonable enquiries.
Rugby union authorities have introduced rule changes on above-the-waist contact in recent years to reduce the risk of head injuries in the sport, with a study showing that they had halved the rate of head collisions.