Burnett, Kaelin

Professional football player Kaelin Burnett filed a California cumulative trauma claim alleging injury while employed by various football teams, including the AAF's Arizona Hotshots, with whom he signed a contract of hire in California on January 8, 2019. The dispute, decided by an arbitrator on the issue of insurance coverage, centered on whether the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) policy covering the San Diego Fleet or the Travelers policy covering the Arizona Hotshots and other out-of-state teams was responsible for the claim. The arbitrator found that Travelers insured the Arizona Hotshots (applicant's actual employer), that the mention of four states in the Travelers policy designated the teams covered rather than limiting coverage to injuries occurring in those states, and that no valid exclusion barred coverage for an Arizona Hotshots employee whose contract of hire was made in California. SCIF was dismissed because it only insured the San Diego Fleet, for which applicant never played. Travelers petitioned for reconsideration, and the WCAB adopted the arbitrator's report and denied reconsideration.