By Ken Bensinger and Marc Lifsher
After more than a year of intense lobbying by professional sports leagues, California has slammed the door on most athletes looking to file injury claims in the state, including those with serious brain injuries.
Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed legislation that significantly limits workers' compensation claims by pro players. It's a significant victory for the National Football League, which has been trying to reduce its financial exposure to concussions and other brain injuries that former players allege are the result of repeated blows to the head.
In August, the league agreed to a $765-million settlement with more than 4,500 former players. They had sued the NFL in federal court over the lasting effects of concussions, which have been linked to dementia and other debilitating illnesses. That landmark deal was viewed as a bargain for the league, considering the gravity of the injuries and the bad publicity the lawsuit generated for the sport.
The NFL's legislative win in Sacramento could be far more valuable over the long term. It allows the league to sidestep exposure to thousands of serious head and brain trauma claims by out-of-state players who are no longer eligible to file in California.
The bill, signed without comment by the governor, was the subject of nearly 18 months of lobbying by the NFL, Major League Baseball and other major sports leagues and workers' compensation insurers. It ultimately found the backing of nearly every member of the Legislature; just five voted against it.
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Supporters said the system was being abused by greedy athletes looking for a big payday. The bill's sponsor, Democratic Assemblyman Henry T. Perea, said that the athletes' claims place a heavy burden on California and its employers and should be lodged elsewhere.
"Our workers' compensation system will no longer be unfairly targeted by out-of-state professional athletes," he said.
But critics said it allowed wealthy teams and their insurers to duck responsibility for employees injured on the job.
"It's a sellout to the billionaire owners" of professional teams, said Melissa Brown, a workers' compensation attorney in Sacramento. "Players are suffering these terrible injuries, especially the older ones. They are going to be without a remedy."
Since 2006, more than 3,400 former NFL players have filed for workers' compensation in California alleging head or brain injuries, with many claiming dementia and other incurable neurological conditions. Some of the game's greatest players _ including Earl Campbell, Deion Sanders and Tony Dorsett _ are among those who have made head injury claims.
Under terms of the new law, such filings will no longer be permitted from athletes who did not play on a California team for at least two complete seasons. In addition, those who spent seven or more seasons playing outside the state will also be unable to file, even if they meet the two-season California requirement.
The bill is retroactive to Sept. 15, meaning that any claims filed by affected athletes from that date are invalid.
Workers' compensation is an employer-paid insurance system administered by states. It pays benefits to workers injured on the job, who in turn are precluded from suing their employers.
Critics contend that the new law benefits a very profitable special interest and will have little tangible benefit for the state as a whole.
Modesto Diaz, a Santa Ana workers' compensation attorney specializing in athletes, said the leagues capitalized on the widespread _ and mistaken _ belief that taxpayers bear the costs of successful claims.
The lobbying campaign took advantage of "an unsuspecting Legislature and an uninformed general public," Diaz said. He said the irony is that hundreds if not thousands of seriously injured former players may now have to turn to Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicaid and other forms of government aid.
"Taxpayers are going to wind up footing the bill for the treatment these people are going to need down the road," Diaz said.
