Workers’ compensation is a hot topic for us, and so it is for the National Football League. In honor of football season, let’s turn it over to an article by Darren Rovell on ESPN.com today:

National Football League teams are facing a significant threat to their finances because of a legal option available to nearly every janitor, teacher and cashier in America — workers’ compensation. . . .

Teams face two significant issues: former players in some states often can file claims years after their playing time ended, and the long-term effects and treatment of head injuries.

According to the article,

players often have the right to shop around for the state that offers them the most expansive coverage. . . .

The most exposure to teams lies in the state where the most teams play: California.

California is the only state that allows employees, including players, to file a cumulative trauma case. And it has no time-period restriction on when a player must file a claim. Cumulative trauma is an injury that results from constant overuse on the job. California is unique because a claimant need not have been an employee of a California-based team. A player who played just one game or had one practice in the state — even as a member of another team — is eligible to file a claim. Attorneys and players have aggressively moved cases to California because of these reasons.

Indeed, California’s workers’ comp benefits paid are high: In 2010, per the most recent National Academy of Social Insurance report, California’s benefits paid per covered worker were the third highest. California apparently also has jurisdictional and statute of limitation laws that are broader than other states.