Workers Comp for Tupa

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08-23-2012, 09:12 AM
Kiwon

Workers Comp for Tupa

How common is it for NFL players to get workers comp?

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Court: Ex-NFL punter eligible for workers comp

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Longtime-NFL punter Tom Tupa is eligible for workers compensation for a career-ending back injury he suffered while warming up for a preseason game in 2005 at FedEx Field while playing for the Washington Redskins, Maryland's highest court ruled on Wednesday. The court rejected the idea that football injuries should not be considered accidental because of the rough nature of the sport.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/court-...132540753.html
08-23-2012, 11:54 AM
pbmax

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwon

How common is it for NFL players to get workers comp?

.................................................. ......................
Court: Ex-NFL punter eligible for workers comp

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Longtime-NFL punter Tom Tupa is eligible for workers compensation for a career-ending back injury he suffered while warming up for a preseason game in 2005 at FedEx Field while playing for the Washington Redskins, Maryland's highest court ruled on Wednesday. The court rejected the idea that football injuries should not be considered accidental because of the rough nature of the sport.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/court-...132540753.html

Doesn't happen very often and the NFL is also fighting to keep cases in the home state as most NFL players play games in California where the laws are more favorable to the plaintiff. There are several measures in the CBA seeking to limit work comp exposure, but to be honest I am not sure how effective they have been.
08-23-2012, 12:06 PM
Kiwon

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbmax

Doesn't happen very often and the NFL is also fighting to keep cases in the home state as most NFL players play games in California where the laws are more favorable to the plaintiff. There are several measures in the CBA seeking to limit work comp exposure, but to be honest I am not sure how effective they have been.

My first thought was that if this marks a new legal precedent, on top of the expected impact of the concussion lawsuit, well then, the game really will be changing.
08-23-2012, 09:48 PM
pbmax

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwon

My first thought was that if this marks a new legal precedent, on top of the expected impact of the concussion lawsuit, well then, the game really will be changing.

I think the concussion lawsuit carries more financial risk for the owners. Work comp is tied to insurance cost and injury settlements. Could be expensive, but I would take a stab its an order of magnitude lower than what they fear of the lawsuits. I could be wrong.
08-24-2012, 05:16 AM
Kiwon

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbmax

I think the concussion lawsuit carries more financial risk for the owners. Work comp is tied to insurance cost and injury settlements. Could be expensive, but I would take a stab its an order of magnitude lower than what they fear of the lawsuits. I could be wrong.

There is no doubt that the concussion lawsuit is the biggie. And if the NFL "loses" that one, what other class of suits will that led to? There is no shortage of lawyers ready to sue.

How does the league indemnify themselves from future lawsuits in such a violent sport and still retain the nature of the game? Goodness, with the climate in Washington D.C., if Darrell Stingley had been injured in 2008 or 2009, you would have had calls threatening to ban the sport completely if serious revisions in the rules of the games did not occur.

Standing alone, Tupa's workers comp decision is not that big a deal. However, the reasoning of Maryland's Supreme Court ("The court rejected the idea that football injuries should not be considered accidental because of the rough nature of the sport") sounds dangerous to me in terms of laying the groundwork for a host of other lawsuits in the future.
08-24-2012, 11:07 AM
pbmax

Other big risk occupations find a way to deal with it that doesn't always end with multi-million dollar lawsuits (oil drilling, lumber, mining, police, fire) absent other negligence. Any field for which there is a John Wayne or Robert Mitchum movie.

The NFL right now might be jealous of the NCAA, in that the NCAA has devised the most far reaching schemes to avoid workman's comp claims: the term student athlete was popularized to avoid athletes being categorized as workers. Pure genius.
08-24-2012, 03:02 PM
Guiness

Does this even register when it comes to the insurance costs for players?

How does the system work in the US? In Canada, premiums are capped. In some industries, workers comp can become a significant portion of their 'soft costs'. Premiums of 2.5% (slightly above the average), but insurable earning are capped at under $100K. If you're making $50K/yr, that $1250 matters. If you're making a million, premiums of $2500 don't show up on the radar.
08-24-2012, 03:35 PM
pbmax

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guiness

Does this even register when it comes to the insurance costs for players?

How does the system work in the US? In Canada, premiums are capped. In some industries, workers comp can become a significant portion of their 'soft costs'. Premiums of 2.5% (slightly above the average), but insurable earning are capped at under $100K. If you're making $50K/yr, that $1250 matters. If you're making a million, premiums of $2500 don't show up on the radar.

Going to need to ask Rand that one. As the sole proprietor of that gentleman's club (and lemonade stand) in Iowa, he will know the laws better.