[Net-Gold] Professional Athletes Deserve Fair Workers Compensation

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David P. Dillard

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Mar 28, 2011, 7:27:41 AM3/28/11

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Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2011 02:27:31 -0000
From: JonG <j...@gelmans.com>
Reply-To: Net-...@yahoogroups.com
To: Net-...@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Net-Gold] Professional Athletes Deserve Fair Workers Compensation

Professional Athletes
Deserve Fair Workers Compensation

Guest Blog by Jon Rehm

A recent Louisiana ruling on the calculation
of the average weekly wage for an injured
New Orleans Saints player making the league
minimum calls, out for a legislative remedy.

In Hoffman v. New Orleans Saints,
No. 10-CA-391(La.Ct.App. 1/25/11) the plaintiff
broke his ankle in a voluntary practice where
he was being paid $110 per practice per the
league's collective bargaining agreement.
Plaintiff's total salary for the season was
$175,000. However the court found plaintiff
had an average weekly wage of $440 per week,
because he was only actually earning $440 per
week at the time of the injury. The plaintiff
argued that his average weekly wage should be
based on a weekly average of his annual salary.

The court's reasoning lead to an unfavorable
result for the player in Hoffman, however the
reasoning the Louisiana court used calculating
average weekly wage benefits a much larger class
of workers ? school employees. School employees
are often paid out over 12 months for wages that
are actually earned over the nine months they
earn during the school year.

This reasoning sets school employees and
professional athletes in conflict. NFL players
should seek out legislative exemptions for
calculating the average weekly of its injured
players. A recent study shows that nearly half
of NFL players are injured during a given season.
Head and neck injuries are particularly prevalent
and especially serious as exemplified by the
recent death of former Chicago Bears safety
Dave Duerson. The average career in the NFL is
2-3 years. Marginal players, like the plaintiff
in Hoffman, are most vulnerable because their
careers are too short and their salaries are too
low to mitigate the effects of their football-related
injuries. Allowing NFL players to base their workers'
compensation payments based on a weekly average of
their annual salary, would be a small-step towards
fairly compensating athletes who entertain millions
of fans and financially enrich team owners and
television networks.

Jon Rehm practices in Lincoln, Nebraska
(Rehm, Bennett & Moore, PC, LLO). He concentrates
his practice on representing injured workers and
their families. He hold a degree in journalism
from Northwestern University(B.S.) and a law degree
from Nebraska College of Law(J.D.). Jon is a member
of the Nebraska State Bar Association, the Nebraska
Association of Trial Attorneys and the Workplace
Injury Law Advocacy Group.

Article with links:

http://tinyurl.com/4mfkolz

..............

Blog-Workers Compensation :

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Twitter :http://www.twitter.com/jongelman

Facebook Group :

http://tinyurl.com/yljckqh

LinkedIn-Injured Workers Law & Advocacy Group :

http://tinyurl.com/2f7lsks

Blog-Burn Pit Claims :

http://tinyurl.com/28apkym

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