Even though a career-ending injury suffered by an up-and-coming football player was accompanied by a botched surgery, his bid for personal injury compensation was denied by a High Court judge.
27 year old footballer, Sharu Naraji, of Winslow Road, Bolton, brought suit against sports injury specialist, Dr Donald Shelbourne, for medical negligence, claiming that the American wrecked what was shaping up to be a highly promising career. Mr Naraji’s personal injury solicitors had been asking for a minimum of £10 million in compensation in order to offset the loss suffered by the footballer, but the High Court said that the injury ended his career, not the surgery – though the court did find that Dr Shelbourne had been negligent in performing the surgical procedure.
Naturally, Mr Naraji has protested against this decision. His legal team is currently seeking leave to take the High Court decision to the Court of Appeal, with Janine Anderson, Mr Naraji’s agent, stating that next January will be the date of the appeal hearing.
Ms Anderson said that his dreams of a ‘glittering career’ as a Premier League footballer were shattered when this surgery went wrong. Currently unemployed, the once-rising star has incurred massive legal costs from the years spent fighting his case, with his agent adding that he has been treated unfairly by the courts in deciding against him.
A British citizen, Mr Naraji spent his early years in Iran, playing for Tehran club side Esteghlal before going on loan in Italy with Torino and in Spain for Real Zaragoza. 2005 saw him signing for Sheffield United, only to rupture a cruciate ligament in his knee in September of 2006 while the winger was playing a reserve team match, undergoing a surgical procedure in America.
However, Mr Naraji’s recovery was insufficient to return to the pitch due to instabilities in his knee, leading Sheffield United to end his contract in 2007.