Player to sue club

Aug 17 2008 by Robert Weatherall, Sunday Sun

A RUGBY star who was lucky not to be left wheelchair bound has launched legal action against the club whose player caused his injury.

Talented sportsman Cameron Johnston came within three millimetres of having his spinal cord snapped during a match between his club Blaydon and Redruth last October.

Since then the 22-year-old has battled to regain his fitness. He is now able to run and is back lifting some weights but still sufferers painful twinges and has also sustained nerve damage.

The injury was inflicted by Redruth player Nathaniel Pedley who was subsequently banned from the game for six months for the illegal tackle.

Cameron’s lawyer Oliver Marns has confirmed papers have been filed against Redruth RFC.

He said: “We made this decision with a heavy heart but talks so far have not resulted in an agreement so I feel we were left with no alternative.

Cameron said: “This was not a decision myself or my family entered into lightly, and I have taken a long time coming to it.

“There will of course be a lot of heartache on both sides, but I have thought long and hard about it and decided this is the best course of action for myself.”

Nathaniel’s father Alan said of the legal action: “It seems to be the way the game is going these days.”

However, Mr Pedley has strenuously denied reports that he and his wife Brenda ever asked Cameron or his family not to launch legal action.

He said: “It is a physical sport where people get injured a lot and sometimes critically injured and that is what insurance is there for. We have never approached Cameron or his family to ask them not to sue”

Medics claim the fact that Cameron avoided having his spinal cord severed was “An act of God”. Cameron suffered a break of his T8 vertebrae.

The bone split horizontally and vertically. The break stopped just three millimetres from his spinal cord and only the reflex action of Cameron’s muscles moving into spasm held his shattered spine together.

Specialists have said Cameron will never play rugby again. Mr Pedley has said he wishes the injured 22-year-old a full recovery.

He added: “It disappoints me that we haven’t heard anything from his family. We sent them an email asking how Cameron was getting on but we haven’t heard anything back.

“Our son has had career-threatening injuries before. Although they weren’t as serious as Cameron’s, we can empathise to an extent with what it feels like to not know whether your son will be able to pursue the sport he loves. We wish him all the best.”