Gary Ablett Sues AFL Over Head Injury, Geelong Cats Legend Sues Supreme Court

Football icon Gary Ablett Sr is suing the AFL and its former clubs, Geelong and Hawthorne.

The Cats legend filed a lawsuit through the Supreme Court, saying the league and his former teams failed to protect him from the severe brain damage he now suffers from.

61 year old man last month opened up to a recent diagnosis and personal hell he continues to suffer from head injuries sustained over his 248-game career.

The man commonly referred to as “God” by Geelong supporters said he suffered “8-10 concussions” before retiring in 1996.

This was announced by Ablett’s lawyer Michel Margalit. Nine newspapers his injuries are “clearly the result of injuries caused by a concussion”.

Watch every match of every round of Toyota AFL Premiership Season 2023 live on Kayo Sports. New to Cayo? Start your free trial now >

Margalit says Ablett is unable to work and unable to pay his medical bills due to his “degenerative condition”.

“One of the biggest problems for Gary is that he was left without funds and the ability to finance the care he now requires, given his condition,” said Margalit.

“That’s why he was forced, in a sense, to file a lawsuit; be able to afford both the medical expenses and the medical care he needs… and those expenses will only go up.

“He really struggles every day and that’s a very typical symptom you see in players or athletes who get concussion-related injuries around the world.

“There’s everything from memory loss to being unable to work and many other symptoms.”

Ablett’s legal team would reportedly argue that it was “reasonable for the AFL, Hawks and Cats to foresee” that he was “vulnerable to concussion caused by head impacts while playing AFL football”.

Ablett told the Herald Sun in March that his condition worsened as a result of brain damage, and he now has migraines, insomnia, blurred vision, significant memory loss, anxiety, fatigue and severe depression.

His fears about his brain condition were confirmed when he had an MEG scan in November.

He says the scans showed significant structural and functional damage to the brain.

“Around 2010, I started getting headaches and pressure in the top of my skull, several days a week at first,” Ablett Sr. told the Herald Sun.

“Then it led to depression, anxiety and extreme fatigue. Then, on the advice of doctors, I had several scans to try to find the cause of the headaches and pressure in the skull.

“Starting in 2015 and almost every day there were signs that everything had changed, then about 12 months ago I started having symptoms that alarmed me and contacted Peter Jess, who I know was a concussion advocate. for a number of past players.”

Ablett said he now sees a psychiatrist every month and takes medication for headaches and bad moods.

His revelations came after the Australian Football League Players Association denied him a request to cover some of his medical expenses.

He says he has not received a response from the AFLPA after he told the association he could not work in recent months.

His case is another potential legal grenade being juggled by the AFL.

Earlier this year, the AFL was rocked when several class action lawsuits were filed. against the league with former football players demanding compensation for brain injuries they suffered during their careers.

Former Western Bulldogs premier league star Liam Picken was among the former players who filed a lawsuit against the AFL through the Victorian Supreme Court. His lawsuit also seeks compensation from his former club and club doctors for the concussions he suffered throughout his career.

Originally published as Gary Ablett Sr Files Supreme Court Lawsuit Against AFL