A judge in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia has blocked a bid by D.C. Soccer LLC (which now operates as D.C. United) to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a former player, who alleged that the club and some of its officials were negligent in recognizing and treating a concussion that he suffered, which ultimately became a career-ending injury.
The club argued unsuccessfully that it was protected by the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA), which provides wages and medical benefits for employees injured on the job.
The incident in question occurred on Sept. 9, 2009 when plaintiff Bryan Namoff collided with a Kansas City Wizards player and suffered a blow to the head. He alleged that D.C. United’s physician Dr. Christopher Annunziata failed to leave the sideline to examine Namoff after the hit.
Namoff claimed that, after the game, he informed athletic trainer Brian Goodstein “that he did not feel right, that the lights were hazy, and that he had no peripheral vision.” He alleged that neither Dr. Annunziata nor Goodstein assessed, evaluated or examined him after the game from Sept. 9 through Sept. 12.
Former coach Tom Soehn allegedly was aware of Namoff’s symptoms and below-par status, but decided to play him in the team’s Sept. 12 matchup against the Seattle Sounders. Namoff claimed he continued experiencing post-concussive symptoms during the game, and that he reported his symptoms to Dr. Annunziata and Goodstein after the game. The original complaint states that the men failed to evaluate, assess or examine Namoff and that they “merely stated that they would monitor him.”
The plaintiff amended his complaint over the spring to include Dr. Annunziata as a defendant.
In their motion to dismiss the claim, the defendants argued that the D.C. Superior Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case because the WCA limits the court’s ability to hear workplace injury claims. The WCA requires such claims to be heard in the D.C. Office of Workers’ Compensation.
In addition, Dr. Annunziata claimed that he was a co-employee of Namoff and that the WCA prevented the Superior Court from retaining jurisdiction over the claims against him.
The D.C. Superior Court concluded that United did not provide the requisite workers’ compensation that would qualify the case to be heard in the D.C. Office of Workers’ Compensation.
Therefore, the D.C. Superior Court maintained jurisdiction over Namoff’s claims against the team because, even if United was Namoff’s employer, it still failed to obtain and offer workers’ compensation.
“The liability of D.C. Soccer is clearly outside the coverage of the WCA,” wrote the judge. “D.C. Soccer failed to secure workmen’s compensation insurance coverage for Namoff and the WCA grants an employee the right to bring a case at law against an employer who fails to secure such coverage.”
The court also retained jurisdiction over Namoff’s claim against Dr. Annunziata because Dr. Annunziata was an independent contractor, not a co-employee.
Namoff is represented by Steve Shapiro of Fleishman & Shapiro, P.C. in Denver, who has represented numerous other plaintiffs in concussion suits around the country, and Joseph Cammarata of Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, PC in Washington, D.C. Cammarata authored the Athletic Concussion Protection Act–a 2011 law that set guidelines for athletes age 18 and under in the District of Columbia who suffer head injuries.
