CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) – The Cleveland Browns football team has lost a lawsuit brought by former players who were injured while playing.
The Ohio Eighth Appellate District ruled Oct. 1 for John Greco, Joel Bitonio and Scott Solomon – three Browns who filed Workers’ Compensation claims that were rejected by the team as time-barred.
The players said there was an exception to the two-year statute of limitations, and the Browns claimed the exception didn’t apply because team doctors were not actually employed by the team. The doctors were employed by University Hospitals but had an agreement to act as in-house physicians in exchange for being able to market themselves as Browns team doctors.
The Browns said those doctors qualified as independent contractors but the court found the team required them to physically examine each player, review test and lab reports, visit the training facility whenever the Browns required and treat players for orthopedic-related conditions.
“The Browns supplied the doctors with an office and all necessary medical equipment and tools for their job,” Judge Anita Laster Mays wrote. “The employment contract extended for five years with an option to extend for an additional five years.”
All this meant the doctors were in the service of the Browns, who controlled their work through the collective bargaining agreement with the players and contracts with the doctors.
“According to the record, the Browns provided medical treatment to the players through the doctors, whose manner and means of work were controlled by the Browns,” the decision says.
“The Browns’ compensation was the use of their trademark for marketing. According to the CBA, each team is responsible for paying for the cost of the medical services for the players. Thus, we find that these payments satisfy the tolling requirements.”