No win, no fee injury claim news
15/12/2009

Ashton to receive accident compensation

Speculation about whether one-time England striker Dean Ashton will make a no win, no fee injury claim for the tackle that ended his career has been dominating the back pages of newspapers in England.

It is said that the 26-year-old Ashton may seek to name England and Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, the player whose tackle caused the injury, in any no win, no fee injury claim that does proceed.

However, Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, believes that involving Wright-Phillips would be damaging to the game. "I hope it doesn't come to that because nobody would think that Shaun Wright-Phillips was a malicious player at all," commented Taylor.

Whatever the case, with Ashton's premature retirement from the game meaning he will miss out on millions of pounds in contracts, prize money and endorsements, some form of no win, no fee injury claim seems inevitable. Gordon Taylor supports this idea. "At the moment we've been speaking to his representatives and the situation is about looking to get proper compensation without discussing any player-v-player action," he said.

In fact, it has been suggested by tabloid newspapers that Ashton might sue any one of a number of parties including, Chelsea (Wright-Phillips'club at the time of the tackle), the Football Association (the body Ashton was training with at the time of the tackle or, as mentioned earlier, Wright-Phillips himself.

However, as Piers Morgan wrote in the Daily Mail, it may be likely that Ashton will just "get a big pay-out from compensation and insurance" on his or his club's work accident policy.