by Kenneth A. David, Esq.

It would at first seem odd to think of professional athletes filing state workers’ comp claims, but they do. Many such claimants are not the superstars or even playing at the highest level in the NFL, but may be in other leagues where pay is not nearly as high and their contracts do not have additional guarantees. However, former football players, including Atlanta Falcons, have filed workers’ comp claims in California. That state generally has more liberal workers’ comp laws. Additionally, in cases involving athletes who play for teams outside the state but who travel to California to play “away” games, the Golden State has been even more welcoming, allowing claims to go forward if the player at least played one game in California. California also allows for a broad interpretation of “cumulative injury” claims to allow compensability where a player may have taken even just a few hits in that state that added together with other hits in other states caused serious injuries. However, last month, a Federal judge blocked efforts by several Falcons players to pursue their claims in California. When joining the team, the Falcons players had signed contracts which stated injuries would be governed under Georgia workers’ comp law. One argument that the players made was that the contract could not limit rights they had under the law. It is certainly true that under Georgia law, an employee cannot opt out of workers’ comp, even voluntarily. However, in this case, the players were not opting out of workers’ comp but agreeing to which state’s law would control. This also makes sense when you consider that the players participated in less than 2% of their games in California and the majority of their “work” (games plus practices) would have been in Georgia.