The NFL and Workers' Compensation

Alan Schwarz of the New York Times offers an interesting story today regarding a workers' compensation claim recently filed in California by the wife of former NFL lineman Ralph Wenzel, effectively asserting that Wenzel developed dementia as a result of his eight year career in the NFL. Schwarz reports that around 700 workers' compensation claims have been filed by former NFL players in California -- whose workers' compensation system is available to anyone that played a single game in the state -- with most of the claims to date relating to orthopedic injuries. If successful, Wenzel's claim would mark the first time that a player has received workers' compensation for the long-term effects of head trauma, and would open the door for hundreds of similar claims to be filed by other former players. Experts predict that the NFL could be facing $100 million or more in potential future liability should Wenzel's claim succeed.