Title: Pro-Football Inc. v. Uhlenhake
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 020343
State: Virginia
Issuer: Virginia Supreme Court
Date: January 10, 2003

PRESENT:  All the Justices 
 
PRO-FOOTBALL, INC., T/A 
WASHINGTON REDSKINS AND 
GULF INSURANCE COMPANY 
 
v. 
Record No. 020343 
 
 
 
 
PER CURIAM 
January 10, 2003 
JEFFREY A. UHLENHAKE 
 
 
FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA 
 
 
In this appeal, the Court reviews a judgment of the Court 
of Appeals of Virginia which affirmed an award of the Virginia 
Workers’ Compensation Commission.  Pro-Football, Inc. v. 
Uhlenhake, 37 Va. App. 407, 558 S.E.2d 571 (2002).  While 
several issues were before the Court of Appeals, the only 
assignment of error before us is as follows:  “The Court of 
Appeals departed from precedent and expanded the standard for 
compensability under the Workers’ Compensation Act by deleting 
the requirement that an accidental injury must be unusual and 
unexpected.” 
 
The Court of Appeals held that “[t]he commission correctly 
ruled that professional football players are not exempt from the 
coverage of the [Workers’ Compensation] Act when they suffer 
injuries in the game they are employed to perform.”  Id. at 417, 
558 S.E.2d at 576. 
 
For the reasons set forth in the opinion of the Court of 
Appeals, we will affirm that court’s judgment insofar as it 
pertains to the assignment of error before this Court. 
Affirmed. 
 
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