Big North Carolina Workers’ Compensation News for Former NFLers
The Monday before last, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York issued a ruling that spurred intense discussion among North Carolina workers’ compensation experts and sports fans around the nation. Judge Paul Crotty issued an injunction requiring NFL owners and teams to stop “seeking to reduce the workers’ compensation benefits due to former NFL players as a result of injuries they suffered while playing the game.”
The NFL Players Association celebrated the legal victory – this battle between the NFLPA and the owners has been raging since 2005. Essentially, management wants to claim “dollar for dollar” offsets to workers’ comp awards paid out to men like Steve Arvy, David Alexander, Charles Smith, Michael Swift, and Dusty Renfro. The Players Association, on the other hand says that owners and teams should only be allowed “limited offsets.”
Although the NFLPA won a decisive arbitration ruling in 2007, the teams and owners essentially ignored this decision. Thus, the NFLPA leveled a lawsuit in 2008 to compel the owners to stop trying to wriggle out of their workers’ comp obligations. In 2009, the court ruled in favor of the NFLPA. But again the teams and owners proved recalcitrant. Let’s see what happens now that a federal judge has weighed in on the matter again on the side of the players.
When most people think of North Carolina workers’ compensation claimants, they picture injured, helpless, and perhaps weak and lazy people, struggling to collect from the state. Obviously, the NFL Players Association does not exactly team with “weak and lazy” individuals – it’s hard to imagine any individuals less weak and less lazy than NFL players.
But in this case, even the strongest and fittest of these players ran into serious problems trying to collect much needed (and legally obliged) compensation.
It’s hard enough to overcome negative stereotypes; it’s harder still to fight back against massive institutions, like insurance companies and corporations, while you are sick and struggling to make ends meet and recover from your injuries or illnesses.
Fortunately, there is a way to level the playing field. A North Carolina workers’ compensation law firm can equip you with the resources, tools, and knowledge you need not only to compel recalcitrant parties (such as the company you work for or the insurance company handling your claim) to treat you fairly and justly, but also to find a strategic way to return to health and reduce some of the agitation and anxiety you’re currently feeling.
More Web Resources:
NFL Players Association celebrate their legal victory
Judge Paul Crotty’s injunction
