The Washington Redskins have to pay workers’ compensation benefits to former kicker Tom Tupa, who claims to have hurt his back warming up at FedEx Field in 2005, a state appeals court ruled. The Maryland Court of Appeals upheld a 2009 Prince George’s County Circuit Court jury’s award to Tupa, who says he injured his lower back before a Redskins preseason game at the team’s Landover stadium, according to the appeals court decision.
Pro-Football Inc., the corporation that operates the Washington Redskins, appealed the jury award by arguing that there’s no connection between Tupa’s 2005 injury and any ongoing disability he still claims.
Tupa, 45, who left the NFL and works in Ohio as Brecksville’s city recreation director, did not answer a phone call placed to his work. He also did not reply to an e-mail seeking comment.
A spokesman for the Washington Redskins declined to speak about the ruling.
Tupa has not played football since hurting his back; the punter has testified that he still needs back surgery. “It is undisputed that he is physically unable to punt in the NFL,” the appeals court wrote.
The amount of the financial award is not detailed in the decision, though court records state that the Prince George’s County jury awarded Tupa just over a year’s worth of disability benefits.
Tupa in 2007 originally filed a claim with the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission requesting benefits, the documents state. The Redskins were ordered by the commission to pay partial disability as well as medical expenses.
When the team appealed the decision, court documents show that the NFL team argued that Maryland didn’t have the jurisdiction to award Tupa workers’ compensation because he was hired to play in Virginia, where the team’s headquarters and practice field are located.
But the appeals court was not swayed, pointing out that game days are in Maryland: “It is clear that the purpose of Tupa’s employment was to play in games, not to practice.”
