Facts are that an ex player is suing the club. The law will determine his case not this forum.

Yeah that’s fair. Just feel so sorry for the lad. He’s suffered injuries that will effect the rest of his life…..

Reiterating: I thought Ward was a cracking player and it's incredibly sad all round he didn't have the career he should have.

I just feel strongly that the club can do without this kind of diversion, we are already in collective trauma over Rob Burrow and whereas I can imagine where Stevie is coming from, I think legal action like this is ill conceived. Like I said though it's in the hands of the lawyers now - one thing for sure is that they will do okay from the situation!

I don't think there will be an insurance policy in place for them to payout from. Group personal accident policies exclude professional sports as a general rule. I would doubt that even Premier League teams would have one. It would be too expensive. Their EL policy will be the one that is being challenged in Stevie's case and you would expect he would have to prove negligence on the club's part. The insurer might just pay out given the circumstances as the court costs could possibly dwarf the settlement. It looks like Leeds have changed their protocols since then. Not sure if that is damning or not. Time will tell.

If Leeds were negligent he deserves his payout. They don't get paid enough to not be protected whether we like it or not.

I am sure they have an insurance policy in place, albeit all insurance policies are subject to conditions and exclusions. An insurance policy will very unlikely pay out for a breach of the concussion protocols (if this is proven to be the case).

Like I said it will be a matter of contract and compliance and law. If the club hasn't followed a policy and the player has developed an injury like this then it's open. That's not to say that Stevie playing a couple of days before the 2 weeks made his injury happen but... if there's a breach there's a breach.

The lad has had a lot to deal with.

They have to have Employer's Liability Insurance by law. This will pay out if they have been negligent. If the insurer believes they haven't been negligent they will defend the claim, and as it appears in this instance, counter claim against the club doctor. The club doctor should have a Professional Indemnity policy which will in turn look to defend the doctor. I would be surprised if Stevie doesn't receive something and his solicitor must think he has a decent case.

Hate all this sueing culture that's coming in. He knew the risks he got hurt. Yes I feel sorry for him but if I crash my car and suffer can I blame and sue renault?

As long as the club followed the rules at the time the case should be thrown out and any claiments forced to pay all costs

You crash your car and damage another or hurt somebody who pays - not you. We all know the risk of getting behind the wheel of car and mayhem it may cause - that is why we have to be insured. If Ward was not insured then somebody needs to be asking a question of the club. They have a duty of care to their employees.

I cant imagine a club would be able to get insurance for players getting injured, as its part of the game, but to be honest i dont know much about insurance.

Would they get compensation every time a player breaks a bone or would the insurance only have to be on career ending injuries?

Surely Ward would have personal accident insurance to cover himself, rather than the club covering it?

I think there are two topics being mixed here. One is what happens if someone gets injured and needs time off work, the other is if someone is so badly injured they cannot continue to work.

In the first case, most likely the club just continue to pay them until they can return, unless its a very long period in which case they may have an insurance policy that can kick in. In the second case, this would almost certainly have to be via insurance, as the club couldn't possibly be held financially accountable for the player's lost earnings for the remainder of their career.

I understand that this case is about the latter.

Think you're right (although they won't have an insurance policy for injured players and neither will Ward have a personal accident policy).

This isn't really about insurance (although fortunately their EL policy should be sufficient to stop them going bust). It's about negligence. Should a company of Leeds's size and nature been aware of the dangers of repeated head injuries and did they respond in the correct fashion after taking the best advice from the knowledge that was available at that time? I guess we'll find out.

This isn't a case of someone making a spurious claim where they should have known the dangers. All players know you can get a bang on the head and it could end your career or your life. That doesn't mean it's the club's fault. However, an employer playing it's employee too early or without the appropriate protocols to avoid long-term injury to their employee.

FWIW I think what Fozzard and Co. are doing is totally wrong and done for the wrong reasons.