California's workers compensation system has jurisdiction over a cumulative injury claim filed by a former National Basketball Association player because he was once employed by a team in the state, according to a state appeals court ruling last week.

The New York Knickerbockers, commonly known as the Knicks, challenged the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board's jurisdiction over accumulated injuries endured by Durand Macklin, a former NBA player, according to court documents. Mr. Macklin claimed a cumulative trauma injury during his professional basketball career from 1981 to 1984, which entailed nearly two years as a player for the Atlanta Hawks, almost six months for the Knicks and just shy of a month for the Los Angeles Clippers, then the San Diego Clippers, according to court documents.

During his time as a member of the Atlanta Hawks team, Mr. Macklin played three games in California against California teams. He practiced and played in one game against the Golden State Warriors and participated in three practice sessions in the state as a member of the Knicks in November and December 1983, according to court documents. Mr. Macklin played in preseason games for the Clippers in October 1984 before being released by the team that month.

In 2011, a workers compensation judge concluded that California's program had jurisdiction over the claim because at least a portion of Mr. Macklin's injury occurred in the state and that the program had personal jurisdiction over the three NBA defendants: the Knicks, the Hawks and the Clippers because they were engaged in basketball activities within the state. Mr. Macklin was found to be 76% permanently disabled, a decision later upheld by the board, which ruled there was no denial of due process in asserting jurisdiction because California had a legitimate interest in allocating liability among Mr. Macklin's employers.

The Knicks filed an appeal contending that Mr. Macklin had no connection with California, that there was no indication of an injury in California and that his one game in the state as a New York Knick in which he suffered no injury could not create a legitimate interest for California in his injuries, according to court documents.

But California has a legitimate interest in an industrial injury when the applicant was employed by a California corporation and participated in other games and practices in California for non-California based NBA teams during the period of exposure causing cumulative injury, according to the decision by the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division Five, based in Los Angeles.

“Subjecting petitioner to California workers' compensation law is reasonable and not a denial of due process,” the court stated in its decision.

Due to Mr. Macklin's employment with the Clippers, the court decided it did not have to determine whether the games and practices on behalf of the Hawks and Knicks were sufficient by themselves to result in a reasonable application of California's workers comp law.

A Knicks spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.