Australian football great Gary Ablett Snr has launched legal action against the AFL and two of his former clubs, Hawthorn and Geelong, over concussions he suffered during his career.
Lawyers acting for the 61-year-old said he underwent a scan last year which revealed brain damage.
The writ lodged by his lawyers claims the league and Ablett's former clubs "knew or ought to have known of the potential long-term consequences of concussion suffered by the plaintiff".
The writ claims the league and the clubs breached their duty of care, which resulted in Ablett suffering injury, loss and damage.
His lawyer Michel Margalit said Ablett was dealing with significant health problems.
"He's not doing well. He's had significant illness over the previous years and he's finding that he's struggling more and more as time goes on," she told ABC News Breakfast.
"He has really significant medical and care needs, and there are just no funds available through the AFL Players Association or any other hardship fund to assist him with those care needs."
Ms Margalit would not say how much Ablett was seeking but said it was a significant claim.
"It is a very substantial case and could be really at the upper range of the allowance permitted by the compensation schemes in Victoria," she said.
"This could be multiple millions of dollars."
Ablett played his first VFL season with the Hawks in 1982 and was with Geelong for the remaining 13 years of his career, kicking 1,031 goals in his 248 games.
The legal action follows a class action launched last month by a group of players who claim to have been permanently damaged by concussions and other head knocks.
More than 60 former players have signed up for the legal action, seeking compensation for pain and suffering, economic loss and medical expenses.
It was recently revealed that former Western Bulldogs premiership star Liam Picken was suing the league and his former club over ongoing health issues linked to multiple concussions suffered during his career.
Picken alleges he was allowed to keep playing even though he repeatedly flagged concerns about concussion symptoms. It is also alleged the Bulldogs let him play on despite Picken returning below-average cognitive test results as early as 2014.
Call for more to be done to address concussion
The AFL recently pledged $25 million to fund a study into the long-term effects of concussions and head knocks on players.
The issue of the long-term consequences of repeated concussions and head knocks in Australian Rules has flared up in recent years, with revelations that late AFL players Polly Farmer, Danny Frawley, Shane Tuck and Murray Weideman had been suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy when they died.
Alan Pearce from Concussion Legacy Foundation Australia said he had spoken to a number of AFL players in the course of his research into brain injury.
"Many feel that they've given so many years of sports entertainment as well as their athleticism and are sort of feeling they've been abandoned and are not looked after," Professor Pearce said.
"The issue is now being taken far more seriously and I give credit to the AFL, in that they are now understanding the issue."
The AFL has introduced a mandatory 12-day stand-down for players who suffered a concussion, but Professor Pearce argues that period should be longer.
"The brain is very delicate tissue and it takes longer to recover so we shouldn't be putting pressure on players to return as quickly as possible to the sport [after a concussion]," he said.
Professor Pearce also called for players to do more of their training in a non-contact setting and for children to play a modified low-contact form of the game until the age of 14.
