A prop who had a stroke following an onfield neck injury is suing his former union and the doctor that treated him on the field.
Former Blue Bulls prop Morne Mellett was forced to retire after suffering stroke following an incident onfield incident in 2015.
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The @BlueBullsRugby are in hot water with former prop @MorneMellett suing the union, and team doctor Herman Rossouw, for a reported R45 million. pic.twitter.com/dYx0bA4k4W
— Vsport (@Vsport5) July 16, 2018
The hit to the right side of Mellett’s neck caused a rupture to the vertebral vein responsible for supplying blood to the brain, a medical report says.
Mellett still has a blood clot in his head, which the report adds could move to his brain at any time.
The report adds that Mellett suffered a stroke in the minutes following the game.
“Immediately after the game, Mellett was off balance, couldn’t feel his fingers and was unable to describe to doctors what (was) wrong. A few hours after the game, he suffered a stroke,” the court document said.
Mellett’s lawyer, Jan Lamprecht, also spoke.
“His dream to play rugby was taken away in an instant and now he has to walk around with the knowledge that he can die at any moment because of the blood clot,” he said.
The Bulls have confirmed that they will contest the case.