Interview With Richard Wagenheim, NFLPA Workers' Compensation Panel Attorney
August 25, 2009
Today we are fortunate to have as our guest Richard L. Wagenheim, principal of Wagenheim & Wagner P.A. Mr. Wagenheim has been a long- time NFLPA Workers’ Compensation Panel Attorney. Mr. Wagenheim has represented athletes in various other professional leagues as well. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mr. Wagenheim has dealt with the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and many other professional teams in Florida in workers compensation matters.
SLT - Please tell us how you got your start in the Sports Law Field, and if this was something you aspired to do even before you were out of law school.
RW - After law school I started a job with a litigation firm in Michigan handling injury claims. One of my early clients was a pro basketball player injured in a motor vehicle accident. Interestingly, the player’s hand injury prevented him from doing certain things, however, after the accident his points per game average increased from 9 to 17 points per game, which would not be helpful in proving damages. I developed a relationship with the player and started representing him as an agent. I then worked as an agent in various sports, but always maintained a litigation practice. In the 1980’s the NFLPA was looking for proficient lawyers in workers compensation matters to create a panel in each of the states.
SLT - When you were in law school did you ever aspire to be a Sports Lawyer?
RW - Back then there was not a lot of involvement for attorneys in that area. The American Bar Association did not recognize Sports Law.
SLT- Can you differentiate between what workers compensation (WC) does for professional athletes that it doesn’t do for any other employees?
RW- WC is insurance for on-the-job injuries. It applies to workers across the board.
SLT- Would you tell us about "credit" or offset issue that has been a point of contention for many years between NFL clubs and injured players seeking workers' compensation disability payments?
RW- This issue has been litigated for nearly 30 years in jurisdictions around the country. The clubs have contended that the standard player contract and the law in many states entitles them to offset post injury salary or injury protection payments against workers' compensation benefits on a "dollar for dollar" basis. This would effectively eliminate or greatly devaluate most workers' compensation claims since NFL salaries greatly exceed workers' compensation payments. The NFLPA and its workers' compensation panel attorneys have contended there should only be an offset during the time salary payments are actually made. Our firm successfully litigated this issue both against the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars. In both cases the court ruled the offset should be applied on a "time" and not a "dollar for dollar" basis. The current NFL CBA for the first time now provides a uniform formula for determining how offsets should be taken so, for the time being the issue has been laid to rest.
Tomorrow: Part II of interview
The decision on sports betting in Delaware:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeq
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