A court in California has ruled that the state did not have asufficient interest in a workers' compensation claim filed by aprofessional basketball player who had played only one game inCalifornia and, therefore, it could not apply California's workers'compensation law to the player's claim or retain jurisdiction overthe case.

The Case

After Adrienne Johnson graduated from Ohio State University in1997, she was drafted by the Cleveland Rockers, a professionalbasketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association(WNBA), and played for them for two years. She next played for theOrlando Miracle, which became the Connecticut Sun in 2003.

See Also: Calif. Governor Nixes WC Benefits for Injured Out-of-StateAthletes

In December 2003, an MRI revealed that she had a knee injury,for which she had surgery in 2004. Although Johnson did not playduring the 2004 season, she signed with the Seattle Storm andpracticed with that team in Seattle in 2005. She did not play forthat team during the 2005 regular season and has not played in anyprofessional games since the end of the 2003 season. During thatseason, she played one game in Los Angeles, California, on July 20,2003.

Johnson filed a workers' compensation claim in Connecticut inAugust 2003 for the injury to her right knee; her claim wasresolved by a $30,000 payment to her.

After leaving professional basketball, Johnson asserted that shehad discomfort in her knee, hip and shoulder. A medical examineropined in 2010 that she had chronic conditions in her shoulder,spine, hip and ankle. Another medical examiner noted that herirritable bowel syndrome symptoms were related to her orthopedicproblems.

Johnson made a claim against the Connecticut Sun for workers'compensation and filed an application for adjudication of her claimwith the California Division of Workers' Compensation/Workers'Compensation Appeals Board for her multiple basketballinjuries.

The workers' compensation judge (WCJ) awarded disabilityindemnity. The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board rescinded theaward and returned the matter to the WCJ for further proceedings toapportion the compensation between this injury and the pastinjuries for which Johnson already had received workers'compensation benefits in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Sun and its insurer, Federal Insurance Company,sought relief in the courts, contending that the board did not havejurisdiction over Johnson's claim.

The Court's Decision

The court held that California did not have a sufficientinterest in the matter to apply its workers' compensation law or toretain jurisdiction over the case.

The court rejected Johnson's contention that California lawcould apply because her injuries allegedly were cumulative and thesingle game that she had played in Los Angeles had contributed toher injuries and ensuing disability. It found that the “effects ofparticipating in 1 of 34 games” did not amount to a“cumulative injury warranting the invocation of Californialaw.”

According to the court, a state “must have a legitimateinterest in the injury” and a single basketball game played by aprofessional player did “not create a legitimate interest ininjuries that [could not] be traced factually to one game.”

Moreover, the court continued, the situs of Johnson's employmentrelationship was Connecticut or New Jersey, not California. Theplaces of Johnson's injuries, employment relationship, employmentcontract, and residence, all possible connections for theapplication of a state's workers' compensation law, did not haveany relationship to California, the court determined.

The court concluded by finding that California did not have asufficient relationship with Ms. Johnson's injuries to make theapplication of California's workers' compensation law reasonable,and that it had no obligation to apply the workers' compensationlaw of any other state.

The case is Federal Ins. Co. v. Workers' Compensation AppealsBoard, No. B249201 (Cal.Ct.App. Dec. 3, 2013). Attorneysinvolved include: Law Offices of Dean M. Stringfellow, Dean M.Stringfellow for Petitioner; Law Offices of Mark A. Slipock, MarkA. Slipock for Respondent Adrienne Johnson.

FC&S Legal Comment

It should be noted that, under a recent amendment to Californialaw, the state's workers' compensation law does not apply to thoseprofessional athletes who spend less than 20 percent of theirworking days as a professional athlete in California. Stats.2013,ch. 653, §1.

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