Alex McKinnon possibly Quadriplegic - Mclean guilty of dangerous throw - 7 weeks

[Joshuatheeel]

Just out of curiosity, people are talking about medical expenses and I was wondering what is covered by Medicare/government?

Talk of it costing him 150k or so a year on carers etc... surely the government pays for that? If not then that is ridiculous. I don't see how people in wheelchairs should be expected to afford 150k per year in care costs.

Not sure exactly what is covered, but good chance if you don't have the cash you end up in a nursing home or group home. Government won't fully paid for fulltime carers.

I don't hink people realise how bad Alex's injury is - pretty much no movement from the neck down - so think about much assistance he would need.

 

[The Charlatan]

Muzby hit the nail on the head.

I don't think McKinnon will seek out damages because he's a money grubbing arsehole, he'll simply want to ensure that will have enough money to live out his days as comfortably as possible and give himself every chance at improving his rehabilitation prospects.

It's not being done out of vengefulness, I'm pretty certain he is grateful for all that has been done for him thus far. The NRL would be merkins to pull his job for life or fighting fund.

 

[POPEYE]

Muzby hit the nail on the head.

I don't think McKinnon will seek out damages because he's a money grubbing arsehole, he'll simply want to ensure that will have enough money to live out his days as comfortably as possible and give himself every chance at improving his rehabilitation prospects.

It's not being done out of vengefulness, I'm pretty certain he is grateful for all that has been done for him thus far. The NRL would be merkins to pull his job for life or fighting fund.

I think that has been the opinion of almost everyone from the beginning

 

[TheFrog]

Lets go through the hierarchy of control:

(snip)

Elimination- would mean stop playing rugby league. Not reasonably practicable.
Substitution- use tackling bags instead of real players. Not reasonably practicable.
Isolation- not practicable in a contact sport.
Engineering- this is things like putting guards on machines, not human movement or other education courses, which would come under administrative controls. Perhaps achieving a high level of physical strength and fitness is an engineering control but it offers little or no control against an injury like this. The state of the ground, its grass cover and consistency underfoot would be another engineering control (knee and ankle injuries are more likely on sandy surfaces)but once again offers no control over risk of this kind of injury.
Administrative- this is where the action is, the only place in fact. It includes the rules of the game and their enforcement, training courses, the judiciary, suspensions, penalties, the sin bin, and so on. This is pretty much the only kind of control the game has for injuries of the type Alex McKinnon suffered, in my opinion. Had the game done enough at the time of this injury to reduce the risk of spinal injuries from dangerous throw tackles to as low as reasonably practicable? That is for a court to determine.
PPE- Helmets, padding, etc. None of which is used in Rugby League. The closest thing to PPE is probably footy boots, which protect the feet. Players could wear suits of armor but it still probably wouldn't prevent an injury like this and it would make the game a completely different and inferior spectacle. Hence not reasonably practicable.

 

[--Storm--]

Surely this will be the defence to any case he has against the Storm. No one other than trolls wants to say it because of how everything ended up but the tackle was barely above the horizontal and the way he ducked his head was a major contributor to the injury.

Only contributor, you look back at McKinnons career, he was renowned for trying to win penalty's by diving into the ground and the whole Knights team was doing it at the time.

 

[Firey_Dragon]

Id highly doubt it. House renovations for a wheel chair would be big but not huge (50-100 max). A special vehicle (its not like hes getting a bently) and his medical and rehab would be covered by insurance. Pretty sure the nrl had insurance, just with like a 300k limit or something and now its at 1m.

1.1m in a trust fund would accrue a shit load of interest/dividends.

Throw in a yearly rise for alex round, a job for life, you cant fault the general public for losing some of the good will when he then turns around and sues.

You cant fault the kid for exploring every possible avenue as any decent person would, but if he does sue then i wouldnt care in the slightest if rise for alex round and a job for life dissapeared.

Check all the comments on facebook on every article about it, public opinion will turn on him if he does sue the nrl over it.

His life has been absolutely ruined. The NRL is like any other workplace, if someone became a quadriplegic in any other job, they'd have full support in suing their employer. I don't see how this is any different.

Medical and lifestyle change costs are into the millions straight off the bat over the course of his life. While all these fundraising campaigns are fantastic, the reality is, they still barely make a dent over his lifetime... And having to rely on 'smart investment' of said funds to ensure that he continues to have a good quality of life isn't exactly a good scenario when you will be lucky to be gainfully employed for the rest of your life. What happens when he suddenly has an issue as a result of his injury, and requires immediate surgery? There goes potentially a couple of hundred thousand, and there goes another couple of hundred thousand in lost investment opportunities.

Fact of the matter is, it is a constant battle having such an injury, whether it be organ failure, blockages etc etc. You can't say, well he has this injury 1m should be enough, it probably won't. There are so many possible complications.

Not to mention the emotional distress. The guy deserves everything he asks for, his life will never be the same, and I'm sure he'd give it all back in an instant if it meant he could have a normal life again.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

McKinnon as far as I'm aware is getting paid by the Knights. Before the injury he was in the process of signing a new two or three year contract. After the injury, the Knights still agreed to it. I don't know what it was worth but he may be pulling in 700-900k as a result of it.

 

[seaeagle sam]

Only contributor, you look back at McKinnons career, he was renowned for trying to win penalty's by diving into the ground and the whole Knights team was doing it at the time.

I was going to call you a merkin but what I've just read has left me... Jeez, some of the human race is lower than scum.

 

[seaeagle sam]

f**k me, a storm supporter talking about tackling practices.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

f**k me, a storm supporter talking about tackling practices.

I don't think any Club supporter can go there? But hey, don't let that spoil the bias :shock:

 

[orochimaru]

I'm all for a bit of BM bashing, but how is what he said inaccurate?

The bloke is 23 and likely paralysed for life. $1 million will evaporate pretty quickly when you consider ongoing medical attention for he rest of his life as well other factors.

You don't have to be an "expert" to figure that out. Just have half a brain.

Well he did say,
"Walk in his shoes" ?

Pun?
On a normal note, sue away, take everything you can get.

 

[betcats]

Only contributor, you look back at McKinnons career, he was renowned for trying to win penalty's by diving into the ground and the whole Knights team was doing it at the time.

f**k off scum. Your stain of a club is renowned for cheating and illegal tackles and techniques to slow the ruck. No surprise it was the storm this happened against.

 

[POPEYE]

f**k off scum. Your stain of a club is renowned for cheating and illegal tackles and techniques to slow the ruck. No surprise it was the storm this happened against.

Fair's fair bc, methinks --Storm-- is a ring in, has to be a Bronco supporter incognito

 

[betcats]

Fair's fair bc, methinks --Storm-- is a ring in, has to be a Bronco supporter incognito

Kind of like a Trojan horse? haha I like that theory Pops.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Only contributor, you look back at McKinnons career, he was renowned for trying to win penalty's by diving into the ground and the whole Knights team was doing it at the time.

Is this guy fair dinkum?

 

[LESStar58]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...be-uncomfortable-for-all-20150518-gh3zz0.html

If Alex McKinnon proceeds with legal action over the tackle that has left him in a wheelchair, the former Newcastle forward will need to be prepared for questions in court about whether he contributed to the injury by tucking his head to his chest before hitting the ground.

This has always been the contentious issue and if it does go to court I imagine the lawyers will go hell for leather after him on this point. Not to sound uncooth but defense lawyers go after victims hard in more unsavoury cases like sexual assault and violent crimes.

It will be hard on everybody concerned but more for Alex than everybody else. But I guess that's life.

We'll see what happens.

 

[Apey]

This is bringing back memories of the fellows who said bending his head in the the opposite direction would have been the 'true reflex reaction' :lol:

 

[El Diablo]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-outer-over-tackle-drama-20150704-gi5908.html

Cameron Smith on outer over tackle drama

Date
July 4, 2015 - 10:00PM

Danny Weidler
Sport columnist

Wednesday night's Origin decider under more pressure than any other time during his brilliant career.

Smith has dealt with scrutiny of the highest order – he was part of the salary cap drama that ripped the heart out of the Melbourne team and cost the team and individuals reputation, premierships and dollars.

But then he had the team around him and the support of his club. There were others in the same boat – but tonight he will be rowing alone.

And he will do it tough to explain his behaviour. Tonight 60 Minutes is dedicating its entire program to the Alex McKinnon story – and the courage of Alex and the amazing support he is getting from his fiancee Teigan Power is a strong message of the show. But the attitude and behaviour of Smith on the field and after the tackle are highlighted by both Alex and his father. Their views are strong to say the least.

His conduct on the field have left the family upset – it is not going too far to say that the family and Alex have dealt with their feelings when it comes to Jordan McLean, the player who made the tackle.

Their feelings are totally different when it comes to Smith. At the time of the tackle this column raised Smith's continued remonstration with the referee without appearing to show appropriate concern for McKinnon as he lay on the field in a very bad way.

His continued protests and his view on the tackle and Alex's role in it are what upset the family.

Worse still in their eyes, Smith has not attempted to make contact with Alex to apologise for his conduct. McLean has taken that step.

Smith is adored by his teammates and is considered by some as one of the finest to have played the game.

He is an intelligent man and gets his position in the game. This week he attended James Ackerman's funeral and on the day that Phil Walsh died he spoke with feeling to the media and represented the rugby league community with class with his words.

It seems in the McKinnon case he has misread the situation, something he normally doesn't do. When he sees the story on Sunday – if he can watch it – he may have a rethink. It is interesting that Queensland opted for Smith to front the media on Friday when traditionally the captain speaks the day before Origin. Let's hope he isn't shielded from the opportunity to give his version of events.

Sadly for Smith, a forthcoming book by McKinnon will reflect a similar attitude. Perhaps Darius Boyd, a mate of McKinnon and a Queensland teammate of Smith should be the one to try to bring them together.

The Blues will gather to watch the program. He has plenty of great mates in the that team, headed up by Beau Scott, Trent Merrin and the Morris twins. They are sure to be affected.

 

[--Storm--]

Smith was right he ducked his head only stating the obvious, he was trying to win a penalty

 

[Usain Bolt]

Lol they're more upset at a persons reaction than the players who did the tackle. That tells me they know McKinnon knows he's as much responsible for his injury as anyone. He tried to pull a Inglis and dive for the ground to get a penalty