Rugby brain-injury claimants face £2.8m legal bill and October deadline

Rugby players pursuing legal action over brain injuries face £2.8m in costs owed to the defendants, with most of the money needing to be paid by the end of October, according to The Guardian. The newspaper reported on Friday that payment and the release of outstanding documents are conditions for hundreds of claims to continue.

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Those claims currently stand struck off after failures to comply with an order requiring disclosure of all available documents concerning the players' neurological testing. The defendants are World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union, the Welsh Rugby Union and the Rugby Football League. Senior Master Cook ruled that the affected cases could proceed only if the defendants' legal fees were paid and the outstanding disclosure requirements were fulfilled by the end of October.

The Guardian reported that the court attributed delays behind the costs to the approach taken by Rylands Garth, which previously represented the players. KP Law replaced that firm in July and must now complete the outstanding disclosure work. The ruling leaves the continuation of those claims dependent on both the financial conditions and the new solicitors' ability to supply the required material.

Paul Downes KC, representing the claimants, acknowledged the seriousness of the position and the need for someone to meet the bill. It remained unclear who would pay the £2.8m. Legal finance company Asertis is funding the action and has already covered multimillion-pound expenditure on the claimants' legal work and neurological testing during the six years the litigation has been running, the newspaper reported.

Downes also warned that further delays could prevent some players from obtaining justice if their cases were struck off. He told the court he understood that seven rugby union claimants had died, and expressed concern that lengthy delays would mean more deaths before cases could be resolved. His warning accompanied the court's consideration of whether the affected claims could continue.

Cook additionally questioned whether the legal team's involvement in separate football brain-injury litigation could impede progress in the rugby cases. According to The Guardian, the court was told Rylands Garth had applied to stop acting in the football action, despite recently indicating it intended to continue. Who might take over that litigation was not yet clear.