The mother of former Manly Sea Eagles player Keith Titmuss has publicly described her family’s lawsuit against the club as a search for “justice,” alleging an inappropriate training session contributed to her son’s death from exertional heatstroke in 2020. Lafo Titmuss, speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, said the family is determined to uncover the truth surrounding the circumstances of her 20-year-old son’s death.
“Yes, we have lodged a claim, and we are seeking justice,” Ms. Titmuss said. “We miss Keithy’s voice, his smile. I miss Keithy teasing his brother and sister, and then when I look at my grandbabies, I look at them thinking they’ve been ripped off not knowing their uncle.”
The lawsuit, filed in the New South Wales Supreme Court, centers on a pre-season training session held on November 23, 2020. A directions hearing is scheduled for early March, according to the ABC report. The family alleges the session was “more likely than not inappropriate,” leading to the fatal heatstroke.
Titmuss’s core body temperature reached a dangerously high 41.9 degrees Celsius during the two-and-a-half-hour session, a 2024 coronial inquest revealed. Paramedics who attended the scene described being shocked by the reading, taking multiple measurements to confirm it. He subsequently suffered a cardiac arrest and died in Royal North Shore Hospital.
The legal action follows similar proceedings brought by former Manly prop Lloyd Perrett, who alleges he suffered career-ending heatstroke during a training session in 2017. Perrett’s claim centers on an “outlandish training regime” and alleges he was deprived of water and fluids. The Sea Eagles are currently defending that case.
Internal documents revealed during the inquest into Titmuss’s death show that a club doctor, Luke Inman, raised concerns about the risks of extreme heat stress as early as 2018. Dr. Inman sent an email to then-coach Des Hasler and high-performance staff, urging them to consistently use a portable Kestrel weather device to measure temperature and humidity during training sessions. He warned of potential legal repercussions if a player suffered heatstroke or died, stating, “You are leaving yourself and the club open to litigation.” He implored them to utilize the device, noting it “does not take long to set up.”
The inquest also revealed Titmuss had recorded the lowest score on a yo-yo screening test days before his death and had gained more than four kilograms during the off-season. GPS data indicated he covered an average of only 47 meters per minute during the fatal training session.
A post-mortem examination also revealed Titmuss had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts, making him the youngest Australian sportsperson diagnosed with the condition. He had played both rugby league and rugby union as a junior.
Ms. Titmuss expressed her belief that her son’s death was preventable. “It should never have happened in the first place, after Lloyd Perrett went down,” she told the ABC. She also spoke of her desire for her son’s legacy to be one of increased safety in sport, particularly regarding heat exertion and brain health, and indicated the family hopes to establish a foundation in his honor. “Part of Keithy’s legacy is that we want the sport to be safer…when it comes to heat exertion and also brain health,” she said.
Ms. Titmuss described recent daydreams of her son as a child, in which she reassured him she would protect his reputation. “I have been picturing Keith as a 10-year-old, running up to him and hugging him and just saying to him, ‘We want the truth to come out’ and, ‘Mum and Dad are there to protect his good name,’” she said.