Court Splits Decisions On NFL Players’ Disability Claims

The Virginia Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied workers compensation benefits to one former Washington Redskins player while granting another player’s disability coverage. In Hamilton v. Pro-Football Inc., the appeals court in Alexandria, Virginia, dismissed a former football player’s assertion that the state’s Workers Compensation Commission denied him workers comp to “unfairly” punish him for attempting to return to professional football rather than look for other employment. The player, Raymond Hamilton, contended that he fractured a bone in his right foot on Dec. 18, 2015, while on the practice squad of Ashburn, Virginia-based Pro-Football Inc., better known as the Washington Redskins. He had two surgeries and underwent rehabilitation through mid-January 2016 at the Redskins’ training facilities.