Sick Player's Case Against NFL Team Can Proceed, Judge Rules

Wednesday, March 23, 2016 | 0

A judge has ruled that a lawsuit by a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker who says he contracted MRSA from the team’s facilities can proceed outside of the workers’ compensation system, The Tampa Tribune reports.

Lawrence Tynes

Former kicker Lawrence Tynes sued the Buccaneers for $20 million, alleging that he contracted a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection because the team failed to keep its One Buc Place practice facilities clean. The infection ended his career, he says in his lawsuit.

The National Football League team had filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying that workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy for any claims of illnesses contracted on the job. It also said the dispute must be handled under grievance and arbitration procedures that are outlined in the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.

Circuit Judge Mark Wolfe said in rejecting the team’s motion that the Tynes’ claims do not fall under the scope of the collective bargaining agreement or workers' comp and that it instead address the duties that commercial premises owners owe to “invitees, third parties and the public.”

The team last year had tried to get the case moved to federal court, but that motion was also rejected.