Injured Newcastle Knights star Alex McKinnon weighing up advice to sue
Alex McKinnon is weighing up legal advice to sue the Melbourne Storm and the NRL following the tackle which left the 23-year-old in a wheelchair.
Fairfax Media has learnt McKinnon has engaged a Sydney-based law firm to explore his rights after the tackle by the Storm's Jordan McLean ended his NRL career prematurely. It is understood the legal advice indicates that McKinnon has a strong potential case for taking action against the Storm and the NRL.
Despite the recommendation, McKinnon is reportedly hesitant to start action as he is mindful of the support he has received from the NRL and the wider rugby league community since the injury. McKinnon did not wish to comment when contacted by Fairfax Media on Wednesday night. It is thought McLean would not be personally liable for the tackle, but his club could come under the microscope. McLean was suspended for seven games for a dangerous throw.
McKinnon's legal team will point to a case involving former Wests Tigers forward Jarrod McCracken, who was awarded $97,000 in 2006 after suing the Melbourne Storm and two players he claimed cut short his career with a spear tackle. In this case, McCracken's career was ended after he injured his neck and spine after a tackle by Stephen Kearney and Marcus Bai.
NSW Supreme Court Justice Robert Hulme said in his judgment: "[The injuries] also prevented him from continuing in a career for which he had a passion and which must have involved substantial satisfaction and reward in addition to that of a monetary nature."
Any potential case could also involve the NRL and explore if the governing body is liable. Questions will be asked if the NRL should have taken a more concerted effort to crack down on lifting tackles, like they have done since McKinnon's injury.
There have been a host of instances where players have sued an opponent because of foul play. Former international Dale Shearer, who was awarded $60,000 by the District Court after his jaw was broken in a high tackle by Eastern Suburbs centre David French during a 1988 game, while Queensland forward Daryl Brohman received about $35,000 after being hit in the jaw by Les Boyd.
NRL supporters donated more than $1.1 million for McKinnon during the fundraising Rise for Alex round last year. The NRL has also offered McKinnon a "job for life". He started a role with the Knights in January. "My role will be mostly football related and working with the juniors, however I hope to also contribute on the commercial side," McKinnon said in January. He suffered two fractured vertebrae when driven head-first into the ground in a three-man tackle in the final seconds of the first half of Newcastle's 28-20 loss to the Storm on March 24 last year.
He spent four weeks in intensive care at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne before being transferred to a spinal rehabilitation ward at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital, where he learned how to operate an electronic wheelchair. In October he relocated to the Gold Coast to begin an intensive program He stood up unaided for the first time in January.
McKinnon represented the Junior Kangaroos and NSW under-20s.
