A court in Pennsylvania ruled that the Pittsburgh Steelers must pay center Chukky Okobi $779 a week in workers compensation as well as more than $22,000 in other fees in connection with injuries he suffered that prevent him from ever playing professional football again.
The ruling upheld previous rulings by a workers compensation judge (WCJ) and the state Workers Compensation Appeals Board (Board).
Okobi played for the Steelers for six years, from 2001 to 2007, followed by brief stints with the Arizona Cardinals and the Houston Texans.
On July 24, 2009, the claimant filed a claim seeking lost wages, medical benefits and counsel fees for an August 1, 2006 “cervical herniated disc” injury that occurred “during contact in practice.” Five days later, he filed three additional claim petitions for previous injuries.
A WCJ held hearings, and subsequently granted his requests, awarding total disability benefits at a maximum compensation rate per week, based on the year of injury. The WCJ also awarded the claimant reasonable and necessary medical expenses.
On September 4, 2012, the Board affirmed the WCJ’s decision. The Steelers appealed, arguing that the WCJ abused his discretion by closing the record and precluding it from presenting its medical expert witness and documentation of the claimant’s post-injury earnings.
The appeals court was unmoved, noting that all parties must “comply with litigation in a timely manner (US Airways v. Workers’ Comp Appeal Bd. (McConnell), 870 A.2d 418, 423 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2005)) and the employer had not done so.
“Because the record in this case clearly reveals that the WCJ offered numerous reminders and accommodations to employer, and that Employer disregarded all of the WCJ’s deadlines despite being warned that the record would close, we cannot conclude that the WCJ abused his discretion by closing the record and precluding employer from presenting its expert medical witness and documentation of the claimant’s post-injury earnings,” wrote the court. “Therefore, the Board properly affirmed the WCJ’s decision.”
The employer’s next argument was that the WCJ erred by adopting the claimant’s “proposed findings of fact,” which “were not supported by substantial evidence.”
In considering this argument, the court reviewed Okobi’s articulation of the wear and tear on his back, which became “increasingly unstable”; the neck injury he suffered in 2006; and a triceps injury he suffered in 2007.
The claimant noted that “the three injuries in combination affect his ability to be a professional football player. … All three are preventing me from training at the level I need to to maintain the strength levels I need to perform the tasks consistent with the job description of an offensive lineman.”
Taken in conjunction with the claimant’s expert’s testimony, the court found his evidence credible, citing the Commonwealth Judge’s finding:
“Although claimant may not have used those precise words, his descriptions of his job duties make clear that his job was extremely physical, involved intense physical contact and took such a toll on claimant’s back that he is no longer able to play professional football.”
Pittsburgh Steelers Sports, Inc. (State Workers’ Insurance Fund) v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Okobi); Common.Ct.Pa.; No. 94 C.D. 2014, 2015 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 156; 3/4/15
