A judge has again criticised both sides in the rugby brain injury cases as two landmark claims continue to make little progress.
Senior master Jeremy Cook opened the latest case management hearings by reminding both defendants and claimants that “it won’t have escaped anybody’s notice that some of these claims are now over five years old, and we haven’t made much progress”.
Because the cases involve claims of degenerative brain diseases, conditions in which brain function worsens over time, Cook said time is critical.
He has told both sides to provide written updates before a scheduled case management hearing in October, when they will be required to identify lists of 28 lead claimants from the hundreds involved. Those 28 would then be reduced to a smaller group to represent the wider cohort.
Cook said the case was unique and required “utmost cooperation between the parties” rather than the “usual sort of kickabout” between them.
Even so, Matthew Phillips KC, representing the claimants, warned that the case is “probably headed for an almighty battle in August” over whether the claimants have complied with their disclosure obligations.
Many claimants in the rugby league case in particular face the possibility that their claims may be struck off if their legal team cannot satisfy the court that they have complied with the judge’s order to disclose all available medical records to the defence, a process which Phillips said “will take at least two years and millions of pounds”.
Cook insisted he did not want hearings to get “sidetracked” by the disclosure issue, which has dominated the past year of proceedings, but it increasingly appears that the defendants in both league and union believe it is central to the case.
The claimants’ legal team say they are on top of the situation and will be able to meet the deadline for disclosure set for this summer.
The Rugby Football League has also failed to disclose records in its possession relating to the international playing careers of the men and women involved, and Cook noted that what was “sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander”.
The rugby union case is further advanced, with one remaining point of contention being the defendants’ need to set out in detail the particulars of breach of duty they claim was committed by World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union.
Cook said: “We need to know what it is you allege should have been done by what point in time.
“There’s been far too much looking down the telescope the wrong way, explaining why we can’t do things, the telescope needs to be turned around so we can concentrate on what can be done.”
