West Coast premiership player Daniel Venables renews compensation bid after collision concussion ended career

West Coast premiership player Daniel Venables has revived his compensation bid after a horrifying on-field collision at Optus Stadium prematurely ended his career. Venables was knocked out and had to be stretchered off the field after the stomach-churning clash in May 2019 during round nine against Melbourne. The then 20-year-old suffered seven brain bleeds and was forced to retire in August 2021 after an independent board of neurologists and neuroscientists declared it was medically unsafe for him to play again. Venables launched a bid for compensation in May 2022, listing the Eagles as the first respondent, the AFL as the second and Paul Robert McCrory — who was appointed to supervise his treatment — as the third. In Venables’ writ of summons, he argued that the club and AFL had arranged “negligent” treatment and care for him after the on-field collision. But the claim seemingly languished, winding up on a list of inactive cases. On Thursday, Venables’ application to remove it from the list was successful. “I’m satisfied there is good reason to remove this from the inactive list,” District Court of WA registrar Gregory Nairn said. In the writ, Venables’ lawyers claimed West Coast breached their duties of care and employment contract with him, signed in December 2016. The club did this by “failing to establish, maintain and enforce reasonable assessment, care, treatment and management procedures and protocols” after the incident. “Further, the first defendant is vicariously liable for the negligent acts of the health professionals employed by it involved in the plaintiff’s care and treatment following the incident,” the writ read. The lawyers argued the AFL, its “servants or agents” also breached their duties to Venables by, among other things, “failing to adequately monitor, investigate and research traumatic brain injuries in the AFL Competition” more broadly. It too should have established, maintained and enforced a reasonable assessment, care, treatment and management program after the collision, the lawyers said. They argued the AFL further failed to carry out any — or any adequate — due diligence in appointing and continuing to allow Associate Professor McCrory to advise it on concussion and traumatic brain injury procedures and protocols. Those it did adopt and implement “were inadequate in all the circumstances”, Venables’ lawyers said. Venables, now 25, has not yet filed a statement of claim with the court. Outside, his lawyer Teron Stone would not comment on Venables renewing his pursuit of the claim. Back in October 2021, lawyer and AFL brain injury advocate Peter Jess said Venables deserved $10 million in compensation from the AFL. “At 19, I’d won a flag, and then six months later my life changed in a split second,” Venables said at the time. A March 2022 news report stated, without naming a source, that about $800,000 had been offered “in a separate process” but had been rejected. Eagles teammate Brad Sheppard also retired prematurely due to concussion-related symptoms and launched his own bid for compensation in July. His claim also alleges negligence in relation to medical treatment for injuries, dating back to November 2009 when he was drafted by the club. The Eagles website describes the 33-year-old calling time on his career in December 2021 “due to the ongoing effects of some heavy head knocks”. A case management hearing for Sheppard is scheduled for December 17. Venables is the only top 15 draft pick in AFL history to win a premiership in his first 15 games.