• Menú
  • Saltar a la navegación de la cabecera derecha
  • Ir al contenido principal
  • Saltar a la navegación secundaria
  • Saltar a la barra lateral principal
  • Saltar al pie de página

Antes de la cabecera

Keches Law Group is now the official law firm of The New England Patriots - Más información

offical injury law firm of the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins and Free Jacks

es_ES Español
es_ES Español en_US English pt_BR Português do Brasil
Consulta confidencial gratuita  (508) 403-7715

Keches Law Group

Abogados de Compensación y Lesiones de los Trabajadores&#039

  • Inicio
  • Abogados
  • Áreas de práctica
    • Lesiones personales
    • Compensación Laboral
    • Negligencia médica
    • Demandas colectivas
    • Derecho laboral
    • Discapacidad de la Seguridad Social
    • Jubilación por invalidez accidental
    • Conflictos de seguros
  • Resultados
  • Comentarios de los clientes
  • Acerca de
    • News & Media
    • Carreras
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Política de no pago de tasas
    • Keches Cares™ Giving
    • Scholarship Essay Contest
    • Referencias de abogados
  • Buscar en
  • Contacto
  • en_USEnglish
  • es_ESEspañol
  • pt_BRPortuguês do Brasil

Menú para móviles

  • Inicio
  • Abogados
  • Áreas de práctica
    • Lesiones personales
    • Compensación Laboral
    • Negligencia médica
    • Demandas colectivas
    • Derecho laboral
    • Discapacidad de la Seguridad Social
    • Jubilación por invalidez accidental
    • Conflictos de seguros
  • Resultados
  • Comentarios de los clientes
  • Acerca de
    • News & Media
    • Carreras
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Política de no pago de tasas
    • Keches Cares™ Giving
    • Scholarship Essay Contest
    • Referencias de abogados
  • Buscar en
  • Contacto

Llame ahora. Estamos disponibles 24/7.

Se habla español

(508) 403-7715

Usted está aquí: Inicio / Noticias / Learn / Can Pro Athletes File for Workers’ Comp? 

Can Pro Athletes File for Workers’ Comp? 

29 de septiembre de 2021 // por Ley Keches

Fans watch sports and support their favorite teams, play along with fantasy sports and feel the pain when their favorite athlete goes down with an injury. But what does the athlete do if they get hurt on the job? 

In Massachusetts and a handful of other states, professional athletes can – and do – claim workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained during their careers. 

Read on to learn more about how injuries during slam dunks, slap shots, touchdowns and home runs could lead to workers’ compensation. 

Workers’ Compensation for Professional Athletes 

If employees get injured or sick at work, workers’ compensation offers them medical expenses, lost wages, disability payments and even the cost to rehabilitate or retrain them. But what happens when your job involves body checks, first downs, or alley oops? Turns out it depends on the state. 

Under Ley de Massachusetts, an “employee” is every person in the service of another under any contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written. 

In Massachusetts, workers’ comp benefits extend to professional athletes, recognizing that their careers come with extraordinary risks, and sometimes those careers can come to a sudden halt due to injuries suffered in the line of duty. 

>> Keches Law Group Named Official Law Firm of the New England Patriots

When Can Professional Athletes Collect Workers’ Compensation Benefits? 

In 2020, NFL players experienced 1,73 lesiones por cada 100 jugadas, con un total de algo más de 800 heridos. 

Whether these 800 professional athletes can receive workers’ compensation depends on the contract they have with their team. 

In many instances, NFL contracts stipulate that if a player sustains an injury on the field, they will remain on the team with pay throughout their work-related injury. 

This situation is what Massachusetts law is referring to when it excludes “persons employed to participate in organized professional athletics, while so employed, if their contracts of hire provide for the payment of wages during the period of any disability resulting from such employment” from classification as employees. 

In these situations, workers’ compensation is not an available remedy. 

Former Chicago Bears Running Back Matt Forte received a substantial settlement for injuries. In fact, since 2000, the Bears have shelled out millions to players like Forte, Brian Urlacher, Devin Hester and Charles Tillman. These claims typically involve injuries like neck issues, back problems, knee injuries, wrist ailments, and more. 

It’s worth noting a critical difference between these cases and those involving head injuries. With acute injuries, such as a sprained ankle or a dislocated shoulder, team doctors can often pinpoint the moment in a game when the injury occurred. This clarity makes it easier to establish a direct link between the injury and the game. 

However, not all NFL contracts contain such guarantees. If a team releases a player without pay following injury, they may be eligible for workers’ compensation and should consult with an experienced attorney to learn more about their rights and available remedies. 

Legal Challenge Examples 

Workers’ compensation for athletes is particularly complicated when it comes to head injuries. Some athletes have waged a legal battle to secure compensation for a range of injuries, including those linked to head trauma. 

But workers’ comp claims related to head injuries can be an uphill battle. It’s hard to show that a head injury is directly related to play and former players have encountered mixed outcomes when seeking compensation for injuries tied to their careers. 

>> I think I Have a Concussion. What Should I do?

Vikings Player’s Struggle 

Al Noga, who played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1988-1992, received a settlement from the team for orthopedic issues developed during his career in 2004. But when he was diagnosed with dementia in 2015, his claim was denied. 

“Noga played for the Vikings from 1988 to 1992, but medical awareness of the connection between and among head injuries, possible concussions, and the potential long-term neurological effects of those events had not yet developed,” Justice Natalie Hudson wrote in the court’s opinion. 

Originally, a compensation judge sided with Noga, but the Vikings appealed multiple times, and eventually the Minnesota State Supreme Court reached the decision to deny Noga Workers’ Compensation. 

>> 5 Steps to Take After Hitting Your Head

California Workers’ Compensation Law 

Meanwhile, between 2008-2015, 434 NHL players filed for and received workers’ compensation over injuries suffered during play. Of those players, 377 had suffered head injuries. All of these claims were filed in California because the state had a law in place until 2014 allowing players to file a claim if they believed their injury worsened while playing in the Golden State. 

California eventually changed the law when it became clear athletes from out of state had essentially had California pay their workers’ comp because their state wouldn’t. 

“We found that there were a billion dollars in claims that were being filled out by out-of-state workers against out-of-state employers and they all turned out to be professional athletes,” said Henry Perea, former California State Assemblyman. 

But it wasn’t just NHL players. In fact, more claims were actually made by football and baseball players. 

>>Legal Guide to Traumatic Brain Injury Claims

Bears Want to Restrict Benefits 

In Illinois, the Chicago Bears and other sports franchises have lobbied for a rule change that would restrict former players’ access to workers’ comp benefits, especially if they’ve sustained career-ending injuries. Teams fear the financial burden for years of payments and possible insurance hikes. 

The rule would mean benefits would only be granted to players aged 35 or younger and only for 5 years after the injury occurred. 

Why Would a Professional Athlete Need Access to Workers’ Compensation? 

Not all professional athletes make millions of dollars. 

The 2021  salario mínimo  for NFL practice squad players is $9,200 a week during the season. NFL players are only paid during the season. Throughout the 18-week regular season, this adds up to $165,000. 

While $165,000 per year is certainly no small sum of money, the injuries professional football players are prone to can be quite costly. 

In particular, contact sport players are especially susceptible to brain injuries. Repeated brain injury can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as “CTE.” Such conditions can have grave financial consequences. 

According to Universidad de Northwestern, “The lifetime costs of a patient’s treatment for a traumatic brain injury are estimated to run from $85,000 to $3 million.” 

¿Lastimado en el trabajo? Keches Law Group puede ayudar.

Atleta profesional o no, en Keches Law Group, entendemos el impacto que las lesiones relacionadas con el trabajo pueden tener en su familia.

Our attorneys are part of a passionate team that will handle your indemnización por accidente de trabajo case from beginning to end

Si usted o un ser querido ha sufrido una lesión en el trabajo, contacto con nosotros hoy.

Categoría: Learn, NoticiasEtiqueta: al noga, california workers' compensation, chicago bears, kECHES lAW gROUP, matt forte, minnesota supreme court, minnesota vikings, National Football League, National Hockey League, NHL, workers' compensation

¿Busca ayuda? o simplemente tiene una pregunta?

Póngase en contacto con nosotros para una consulta gratuita y sin compromiso hoy mismo. No le costará nada y es 100% confidencial.

Llame, chatee o envíe un correo electrónico hoy mismo.

Contacto

Previous Post: " Charlotte Glinka de Keches Law Group gana un veredicto de $612,277 en Boston
Next Post: El panel arbitral concede a un cliente de Keches Law Group, antiguo técnico de diálisis, $1.780.000 Keches Law Group gana $1.780.000 para un técnico de diálisis que sufrió una importante radiculopatía lumbar con caída del pie tras una lesión laboral."

Barra lateral principal

Evaluación gratuita del caso

Llame a 508-403-7715 para obtener ayuda inmediata o rellene el siguiente formulario y nos pondremos en contacto con usted lo antes posible.

"*" señala los campos obligatorios

Nombre*
Este campo es un campo de validación y debe quedar sin cambios.

Formulario seguro

[brb_collection id="2306"]

Pie de página

Sobre nosotros
Keches Cares™
Carreras
Diversity & Inclusion
Beca
Referencias de abogados
Política de no pago de tasas

Recent Blog Posts:

  • Gallery: Salute To Nurses 2025
  • Keches Law Group Proudly Sponsors Boston Globe’s “Salute To Nurses” Celebration
  • We Built This City – Celebrating the workers who keep New England going
  • Keches Law Group Celebrates Five Attorneys Listed Among Best Lawyers®

Contacto

Estamos disponibles 24/7 por teléfono

Se habla español / portugués
es_ES Español
es_ES Español en_US English pt_BR Português do Brasil


Horario de oficina:
De lunes a viernes, de 8:30 a 17 horas

Citas los sábados, domingos y por la noche disponibles bajo petición.

Estamos a una llamada o un clic de distancia si necesita ayuda.

508-403-7715

Contacta con nosotros por correo electrónico →

Follow Us:


The Official Injury Law Firm of: official injury law firm

  • Mapa del sitio
  • Política de privacidad
  • Aviso de la ADA
  • Blog
  • Press Releases

Pie de página del sitio

Servimos a todo MA, NH, RI, CT incluyendo las siguientes localidades: Condado de Bristol incluyendo Attleboro, Fall River, New Bedford y Taunton; Condado de Norfolk incluyendo Brookline, Dedham, Franklin, Milton y Quincy; Condado de Worcester incluyendo Fitchburg, Leominster, Shrewsbury, Westborough y Worcester; el condado de Hampden, que incluye Ludlow, Springfield, West Springfield y Westfield; el condado de Middlesex, que incluye Cambridge, Framingham, Lowell y Medford; y el condado de Plymouth, que incluye Brockton y Plymouth.

Descargo de responsabilidad de la publicidad de los abogados: la información de este sitio web es sólo para fines de información general. Nada de lo que aparece en este sitio debe tomarse como un consejo legal para cualquier caso o situación individual. Cualquier información enviada a través de un formulario no pretende crear una relación abogado-cliente.
Este sitio está protegido por reCAPTCHA y el sistema Google Política de privacidad y Condiciones de servicio aplicar.

Copyright © 2025 Keches Law Group - Todos los derechos reservados

en_US English
en_US English
es_ES Español
pt_BR Português do Brasil