Former Richmond hardman Ty Zantuck claims the AFL club didn't have a system for properly managing head injuries, leaving him with suspected brain degeneration from repeated concussions.
Zantuck, who was drafted in 2000 and played with the Tigers until 2004, is suing the club over a chronic and debilitating back injury but has broadened his claim to include the effects of on-field concussions.
He says he's been left with severe back and neck pain, a major depressive disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He has a history of suicide attempts and wants damages for permanent loss of earnings.
Richmond allowed Zantuck to train and play with unhealed concussions, significantly worsening the effects of fresh head injuries and leading to suspected chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), his lawyer told Victoria's Supreme Court on Thursday.
Zantuck's legal team looked through old videos of his games in late 2021, noticing he seemed dazed and slow to get to his feet after knocks to the head.
He then consulted specialist doctors and was diagnosed with suspected CTE, a progressive and fatal brain disease. It can only be confirmed after death.
"The state of science and medical knowledge at time he was playing meant the club had a duty of care to take reasonable steps to avoid cumulative damage associated with repeated concussion injuries," Zantuck's lawyer, Lachlan Armstrong QC, told the court.
Thursday's hearing is set to determine whether it is too late for Zantuck to expand his claim with new evidence addressing the effects of his head injuries.
Lawyers for the Richmond Football Club said they had not had time to respond to more than 150 pages of new material.
In his earlier claim, Zantuck said he was diagnosed with a back injury stemming from the club's weight training and running program in December 2001 or January 2002 and sought a dispensation from attending a training camp in the Grampians.
The week-long camp included daily hikes with a 30kg backpack. The dispensation was refused, but Zantuck was allowed to carry a 15kg pack.
It's alleged that when pre-season training began, he collapsed in pain suffering sudden back spasms during the first session.
Zantuck was diagnosed with a slipped disk on top of his earlier injuries, and he was injected with local anaesthetic on training and game days to get through matches in early 2002.
When that stopped working he was received 15 to 20 epidural injections in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, allegedly administered by former club doctor Chris Bradshaw and current doctor Greg Hickey, who are also named in the lawsuit.
The defender played 68 games for the Tigers between 2000-2004, and another nine games for Essendon in 2005.
