Professional Sports Injury Workers Compensation Overview
Not every pro sport athlete is a superstar nor ever will be. Many are injured and forgotten. Your dreams are cut short by debilitating injuries. You receive medical care in the beginning but for how long depend on your collective bargaining agreements. You would think pro sport athletes would receive the best care possible but that's not always the case.
The standard of medical care has a great disparity. Also the ball clubs want to protect their investments and may put pressure on their contracted doctors to make medical calls that are not always ethical. Or the players may not follow the advice because, after all, pro sports is a macho environment and if you don’t perform there is always a bunch of younger players who are competing for your spot. Sometimes the care given is inferior and results in bad judgment and furthers injuries especially bacterial infections.
Some states let professional athletes file medical malpractice lawsuits. Other states only allow an award out of a state’s Workers’ Compensation which frequently is very minimal aid to the injured athlete. Workers compensation statutes are very complex and are not created equally which is why having a pro sports injury attorney in your corner is one of the smartest things you can do.
Here is a short overview of how each sport – basketball, baseball, hockey, and football handle sports related workers compensation. This is not meant to be conclusive. Please consult your collective bargaining agreement or better yet – a professional sports injury lawyer.
National Football League
The collective bargaining agreement states that any compensation paid to Player under this contract or under any collective bargaining agreement in existence during the term of this contract for a period during which he is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits by reason of temporary total, permanent total, temporary partial, or permanent partial disability will be deemed an advance payment of workers’ compensation benefits due Player, and Club will be entitled to be reimbursed the amount of such payment out of any award of workers’ compensation. In addition to the paragraph on Workers’ Compensation, there is also one on the proper injury grievance procedures an athlete must follow unless a collective bargaining agreement in existence at the time of termination of the contract provides otherwise.
However, these clauses in the football contract are just the tip of the iceberg. The collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union greatly elaborates on all issues related to the injury of a player. It lays out the process by which a player can formally complain upon the termination of his contract because of an injury the athlete has incurred in the performance of his services under the contract.
If you are released from the New York Jets or Philadelphia Eagles while still suffering from an on-the-job injury, notify your Player Rep and the NFLPA (1-800-372-2000) immediately. An injury grievance must be filed within 25 days of your release to protect your rights under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. And then contact Ned Ehrlich, sports compensation lawyer.
It is becoming more apparent that as much as leagues and teams would like to think they are providing ample medical support and compensation for injury, they are not. The lower-paid athletes with little experience are not receiving the support or care they should receive upon the injury.
National Hockey League
Clubs shall maintain group life insurance policies, and the union shall also maintain such a policy.34 Accidental death and dismemberment policies must be maintained by those two entities not only for the players, but also for the spouses of players that are eligible for payments from these policies.35 The amount of the benefit coverage depends on age at disability, as well as experience in the league. In terms of serious injury, there is also a one-time benefit available for a player from the clubs and the union when a player on a club suffers a disability resulting from blindness, dismemberment, paralysis, or brain damage.
National Basketball Association
The benefits available to players are laid out in an easy to comprehend format. The benefits are available not just for current players, but also help the athletes plan for post-career opportunities, including benefits available upon the conclusion of their careers. Life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment benefits exist, as well as disability and medical/dental insurance benefits. As for workers compensation the basketball player has the ability to see a doctor other than the team doctor for a first or second opinion.
Major League Baseball
If a player’s contract is terminated by a ball club by reason of the player’s failure to render his service due to a disability resulting directly from injury sustained in the course and within the scope of his employment under the contract, and notice is received by the club, the player shall be entitled to receive from the club the unpaid balance of the full salary for the year in which the injury was sustained, less all workers’ compensation payments received by the player as compensation for loss of income for the specific period for which the club is compensating him in full. Workers’ compensation is understood to be a possibility for the injured athlete.
