Citation

Freckelton I. J. Law Med. 2019; 27(1): 55-65.

Affiliation

Barrister, Crockett Chambers, Melbourne; Professorial Fellow of Law and Psychiatry, University of Melbourne; Adjunct Professor of Forensic Medicine, Monash University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Thompson - LBC Information Services)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

31682342

Abstract

Ringside doctors play a vital public health role in protecting fighters from the deleterious effects of concussive and other injuries which are reasonably foreseeable from the contests in which they engage. This column reviews a landmark action for defamation taken by a ringside doctor against a media organisation that published a critique of his performance of his role in a high-profile boxing bout in Sydney, Australia. It reviews the judgment of McCallum J in O'Neill v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd (No 2) [2019] NSWSC 655 (O'Neill) and reflects on the broader significance of the decision for the role played by ringside doctors while boxing and other martial arts contests continue to be permitted by law.

Language: en

Keywords

concussion; damages; defamation action; martial arts; ringside doctors