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Case name: Lincoln Hockey d/b/a Washington Capitals, et al. v. District of Columbia Department of Employment Services, No. 08-AA-1476 (D.C. App. 07/08/10).

Ruling: The District of Columbia Court of Appeals held that a hockey player signed to a team based in the District of Columbia was entitled to temporary total disability benefits and temporary partial disability benefits even though he was injured in a game outside the district and played in a game for an affiliated team based outside the district.

Summary: A professional hockey player signed a two-year contract with the Washington Capitals. He suffered a career-ending head injury in a game in which he played for the team's minor league affiliate based in Portland, Maine. The game was played in Quebec, Canada. The player was 33 at the time of his injury and one of the oldest players in the American Hockey League. The court held that the player was entitled to temporary total disability benefits and temporary partial disability benefits.

The court stated that because the player's injury occurred outside the District of Columbia, the Workers' Compensation Act only covered his claim if at the time of his injury, his employment was "localized principally in the District of Columbia." The court stated that the player's contract contemplated performance in the district, where the team was based.

The Capitals contended that the player was at or near the end of his career at the time of his injury, so his award should be limited according to his work-life expectancy as a professional athlete. The court stated that the player's temporary partial disability award was correctly limited to a period of five years. According to statute, the player's claim was not required to be limited according to his work-life expectancy as a professional athlete because he did not seek permanent partial disability benefits.

Read more at the WorkersComp Forum homepage.

September 30, 2010

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