Dolan Media Newswire Story
Subject: Ex-St. Louis Ram sues NFL for disability benefits, says team failed to disclose kidney disease
Pub: St. Charles County Business Record
Author: Donna Walter
Category:
Sub-Category:
Issue Date: 01/16/2009 Word Count: 34
Ex-St. Louis Ram sues NFL for disability benefits, says team failed to disclose kidney disease
by Donna Walter
Dolan Media Newswires
© Dolan Media Newswires 2010.ST. LOUIS, MO -- A former St. Louis Rams defensive tackle is suing the National Football League’s player retirement plan for failing to pay disability benefits and accusing the team of knowingly aggravating his kidney disease by giving him anti-inflammatory drugs.
Gaylon M. Hyder, who played for the Rams during the 2000 season, suffers from kidney disease, cardiovascular problems and congestive heart failure. Hyder injured his knee during a Rams game against the Atlanta Falcons, and the team doctor gave him Vioxx for his injury, he alleges in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Houston.
But the lawsuit also alleges blood tests taken by the team doctor suggested the player had kidney disease and that anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Vioxx, are “potentially toxic” to those with kidney disease.
Doctors have recommended that Hyder undergo a kidney transplant, his lawyer said. Hyder is represented by Michael H. Rosenthal, of Philadelphia.
Rosenthal said he and Hyder are facing an uphill battle.
The legal framework of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act tends to favor benefit plans, he said in a telephone interview. In addition, disabled and retired football players have a tough time collecting benefits from the NFL plan, he said.
“The Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan’s definition of disability has been interpreted by its administrators in a way that usually leads to a denial of benefits,” he said in an e-mail.
“The NFL announced last year that players qualifying for Social Security benefits would be approved for NFL disability benefits, but it is not clear how the Plan is applying that rule in practice,” he added.
An NFL spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment on Thursday.
Hyder is receiving Social Security disability benefits because the Social Security Administration found he is totally disabled from employment, the lawsuit alleges. The administration determined the onset of total disability to be April 10, 2006.
The former player applied for benefits in 2007 for both total permanent disability and line of duty disability. The plan’s Disability Initial Claims Committee denied Hyder both types of benefits, saying he wasn’t disabled and his kidney disease didn’t “arise out of League football activities,” according to the lawsuit.
The NFL plan’s Retirement Board denied Hyder’s appeal for total permanent disability last February. But instead of basing its decision on Hyder’s ability to work, the board said he only earned two credited seasons of NFL playing time — not the three required to be eligible for benefits. The board still hasn’t issued a decision on Hyder’s claim for line of duty benefits.
The Rams released Hyder at the end of the 2000 season. He signed with the Cleveland Browns in October 2001 and learned of his kidney disease. The Browns released him in March 2002. The following January, Hyder signed on with the Oakland Raiders, but he failed the physical examination and was released from the team in March.
The lawsuit alleges that the plan must take into account the Vioxx treatment Hyder received when it calculates his credited seasons.
“Our position is his career was cut short by the medical treatment received while he was a player with the Rams,” Rosenthal said.
The lawsuit also complains that the Retirement Board tabled Hyder’s appeal for line of duty benefits several times without notifying him of its decision in a timely manner. The last time the board tabled the appeal was at its Nov. 11 meeting, but Hyder alleges ERISA regulations required the NFL plan to inform him before the Nov. 11 meeting that the board needed more time. Another ERISA regulation required the NFL plan to decide Hyder’s appeal no later than the Nov. 11 meeting, the suit alleges.
Hyder is asking for total permanent disability benefits and line of duty benefits dating back to April 10, 2006, the date the Social Security Adminstration identified as the onset of Hyder’s disability. He also wants all past, current and future benefits, attorney’s fees and costs, and prejudgment interest.
The case is Hyder v. Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan, 4:09-cv-88, and may be accessed through the court’s Web site, www.txsd.uscourts.gov.
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