I’ve been contacted by five current or former NFL players about representation in the last six months. Their injuries arranged from career ending problems to minor stuff like leg injuries that ended a season, but didn’t end a career. Not all of them are former Chicago Bears players, but the ones that weren’t got injured while playing a game at Soldier Field.
All of the five had one thing in common though. They all had filed a case for workers’ compensation benefits in the state of California.
That of course makes no sense, until you learn that something in the union contract allows them to bring cases in California.
Now aside from the fact that the injuries all took place in Chicago, the doctors are for the most part in Chicago and any witnesses would also be in Chicago, this is a terrible idea for the players for one simple reason. The benefits in California for injured workers are terrible when compared to what they are in Illinois.
While technically the players could bring a second case in Illinois, none of the ones that I talked to even knew that was an option. I can’t imagine how many of them never find out.
I don’t expect people to have sympathy for millionaire NFL players, but the guys that I talked to weren’t millionaires, but instead younger players who played for the NFL minimum or close to it. While they still did great on that one season, none of them are set for life. But in the bigger picture, I don’t understand why someone from the NFL players union hasn’t helped these athletes understand what their best options are.
Most of our clients are not athletes, but instead work regular jobs. Many of those people get sold out too, but they don’t have anyone looking out for them until they get in the hands of the right lawyer. You’d expect that the most powerful union in the country would actually search out for the best option for their members. They don’t and it kind of shows that other workers too must look out for themselves. If you aren’t your best advocate, nobody else will be.
We are workers’ compensation attorneys who help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.