Content by Nicholas Robinson

Following on from our October 2022 Rugby Union article on instrumented mouthguards, World Rugby will now be adopting mouthguards with smart technology that measures the force of impacts to the head in real time during matches. The mouthguards have already been used in the inaugural WXV competition and will be mandatory in World Rugby games…

In Czernuszka v King [2023] EWHC 380 (KB), the Claimant, an amateur rugby player was tragically rendered paraplegic and wheelchair-dependent for the rest of her life. She claimed damages in negligence against the Defendant, who carried out the tackle which caused this injury.  Participation in sport raises particular issues in the context of legal duties…

In another step forward, the use of Instrumented Mouthguards (iMGs) is being included by the RFU in their mission to reduce players’ risk of concussion.  Following research across the 2020/21 season using Harlequins and other men’s and women’s top tier teams, iMGs are to be offered to all elite English teams this season. The RFU,…

A claim is being brought against the Rugby Football League (RFL) by a group of 10 ex-professional rugby league players. The claim follows on from the announcement that in December 2020 a letter of claim had been sent in respect of rugby union players considered in this blog. This discussed the news that Rylands Law are…

“…it will be rare for a claim to be fundamentally dishonest without the Claimant also being fundamentally dishonest, although that might be a theoretical possibility, at least“ When Julian Knowles J made the above observation in London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (in liquidation) v Sinfield [2018] EWHC 501 (QB) it was…

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Concussion in Sport Inquiry committee has been holding consultations with leading experts, former professional sports athletes, the Chief Medical Officers and Chief Executives of Sports Governing Bodies as well as charities and campaigners to fully investigate brain injury in sport. The authors recently explored gender differences in…

The issue of concussion in sport is frequently in the news at the moment. The risks and consequences of concussion have been highlighted in rugby, football, boxing and many other sports. However, the vast majority of these issues have been focussed on male participants. However, a recent study available on the JAMA network, a free…

The development of a highly accurate saliva test to diagnose concussion in elite male rugby players has been labelled “game-changing” by Professor Antonio Belli, Chief Investigator of the study SCRUM (Study of Concussion in Rugby Union through MicroRNAs). Having previously identified that the “… concentration of specific molecules in saliva changes rapidly after a traumatic brain injury“, the…

Last week saw the publication of this year’s Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey. This was the 26th such report commissioned by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA). It is an independent survey of local authority highways departments in England and Wales. The full report can be viewed and downloaded here. Key Findings of the…

A global campaign has been launched to mandate the introduction of filtration and warning systems on commercial aircraft and address concerns over alleged ‘aerotoxic syndrome’. The ‘Aerotoxicity Litigation’ concerns claims by employees of airlines who allege that they have been exposed to toxic substances in aircraft cabin air and have thus sustained personal injury (including…