Legal Experts Praise Decision To Withdraw Eoin Morgan From Series Decider

Specialist sport injury lawyers have praised the decisive actions of the England cricket medical team and captain Eoin Morgan after he was hit on the helmet by a ball travelling at 90mph.

Morgan was clearly dazed after being struck and after initially staying on his feet, he eventually sat on the turf as the medics ran onto the pitch to carry out basic checks. 

Despite scorecard pressures and the importance of the game a decision was quickly made to withdraw Morgan from the field of play. He retired hurt and went straight back to locker room to recover from the impact of the incident. Tests later confirmed that he had suffered a concussion.

The Australian cricketers had rushed to check on his wellbeing, with memories still fresh from the unexpected death of their teammate Phillip Hughes in November 2014. He passed away two days after being hit in the neck by a bouncer and suffering a subarachnoid haemorrhage during a match. 

Eoin Morgan was helped by the protection of his helmet, trained medical staff and an understanding about concussion. This subject has been discussed heavily in recent months with many professional sporting bodies bringing in changes to recognise the seriousness of the matter.

Irwin Mitchell specialises in helping those affected by head injuries to gain access to vital support to aid their rehabilitation and recovery.

Expert Opinion

“It is very encouraging to see the swift, decisive and appropriate actions taken by England’s medical team to ensure the safety of captain Eoin Morgan. <br/> <br/>“It’s worth remembering that this was a series decider at the end of a very competitive summer of cricket between two fierce rivals. England’s batting line-up were struggling and desperately needed their captain to come to the rescue after his match winning performance in the previous game. <br/> <br/>“Crucially all this was ignored and the focus remained entirely on the players’ health and wellbeing. Concussion is a difficult diagnosis with signs and symptoms often being delayed. It is a hard job for team doctors to reach a difficult diagnosis within the pressured environment of elite sport. However, Head injuries can have a serious impact on players and if the correct assessment, treatment and care is not provided then there could be short and long-term consequences. <br/> <br/>“This is a timely reminder of how important it is for anyone taking part in physical activity to wear the correct equipment and ensure they’re as safe as possible. Amateur players may not always have a trained medical team ready to diagnose how serious an injury is, so precautions should always be taken especially when it comes to suspected concussion. <br/> <br/>“The authorities should be praised for taking concussions in sport more seriously in recent years and it is great to see football, rugby and NFL all bringing in new laws to protect athletes and set the correct example to millions of people watching around the world.“ Ian Christian - Partner