Legal News

Will Former NFLers Find California Gold in Dementia Cases?

By Ashby Jones

We tend to not do much here on the blog on worker’s compensation.

But we’re going to delve into the topic now in light of this interesting NYT piece on former National Football League players filing workers’ compensation claims for alleged neurological damage suffered while butting heads on the gridiron.

The lengthy story, by reporter Alan Schwartz, looks at a test case filed recently in California on behalf of Ralph Wenzel, who claims his dementia is related to his career as an NFL lineman. If the case succeeds, and Wenzel is allowed to collect on his claim, it could open the gates to a flood of other claims. Writes Schwartz:

Given the dozens and perhaps hundreds of players who could file similar claims, experts in the California system said NFL teams and their insurers could be facing liability of $100 million or more. They identified a wide spectrum of possible effects: these costs could merely represent a financial nuisance for a league that recorded $8.5 billion in revenue last year, or, if insurance costs rise drastically because of such claims, the NFL could be forced to alter its rules to reduce head trauma. Officials already are considering decreased contact in practice and forbidding linemen from using the three-point stance.

Dennis Curran, the NFL’s senior vice president for labor litigation and policy, told the NYT Monday that the league was already assisting players with dementia by reimbursing medical expenses and offering other financial assistance.

Schwartz’s story makes some interesting observations about California’s worker’s compensation regime, which has more permissive rules than other states on statutes of limitations and jurisdiction — a player need only have played one game in the Golden State to be able to file a valid worker’s comp. claim.

Even if Wenzel’s claim fails, writes Schwartz, a successful one is almost inevitable at some point. Tony Baroldi, a lawyer in Santa Ana who handles more than 100 claims a year for insurance companies who cover NFL teams, said conversation regarding cost containment in regard to head injuries would have to wait until the flood of claims he said was surely coming.

“It hasn't happened yet,” Baroldi told the NYT. “It's hard to get people worried about things that have never happened.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on April 06, 2010 (boomark / email).