Thi was the question I was asking last week...
"How can a player start in the World Series then be 'physically unable to perform the following season'?
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Claim -DENIED!
The 37-year-old Bagwell will begin the season on the disabled list and acknowledged Saturday he might never play again.
But Ty Buthod, a partner for the Houston law firm Baker Botts and an outside attorney for Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, said Monday that the Astros were told a few weeks ago that their claim would be denied.
"The Astros took the position that Bagwell was totally disabled in January 2006 even though he played in September and October 2005," he said. "Connecticut General determined that there had been no adverse change in Mr. Bagwell's condition between the end of last season and the date the policy terminated on Jan. 31, 2006."
Buthod also noted that Bagwell's position in the contract was listed as "professional baseball player-non-pitcher."
"He was certainly able to perform in that occupation at the end of 2005," Buthod said.
The Astros, however, are not giving up. Wayne Fisher, an attorney for the team, said he would give the insurance company two weeks to reconsider.
"It will go to court if they don't change their position very shortly," Fisher told The Associated Press.
Fisher said Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., deemed on Jan. 12 that Bagwell was "totally disabled to play baseball."
"For a lawyer who has 45 years of experience in this kind of thing -- big, gigantic shock, an insurance company doesn't want to pay," Fisher said.
Bagwell, perhaps the best hitter and most popular player in franchise history, missed 115 games last season following shoulder surgery but returned in time to play for Houston in the postseason. He was limited to duty as a pinch-hitter and designated hitter in the World Series against the Chicago White Sox.
He went 1-for-8 in the Series with an RBI.
"How can a player start in the World Series then be 'physically unable to perform the following season'?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Claim -DENIED!
The 37-year-old Bagwell will begin the season on the disabled list and acknowledged Saturday he might never play again.
But Ty Buthod, a partner for the Houston law firm Baker Botts and an outside attorney for Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, said Monday that the Astros were told a few weeks ago that their claim would be denied.
"The Astros took the position that Bagwell was totally disabled in January 2006 even though he played in September and October 2005," he said. "Connecticut General determined that there had been no adverse change in Mr. Bagwell's condition between the end of last season and the date the policy terminated on Jan. 31, 2006."
Buthod also noted that Bagwell's position in the contract was listed as "professional baseball player-non-pitcher."
"He was certainly able to perform in that occupation at the end of 2005," Buthod said.
The Astros, however, are not giving up. Wayne Fisher, an attorney for the team, said he would give the insurance company two weeks to reconsider.
"It will go to court if they don't change their position very shortly," Fisher told The Associated Press.
Fisher said Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., deemed on Jan. 12 that Bagwell was "totally disabled to play baseball."
"For a lawyer who has 45 years of experience in this kind of thing -- big, gigantic shock, an insurance company doesn't want to pay," Fisher said.
Bagwell, perhaps the best hitter and most popular player in franchise history, missed 115 games last season following shoulder surgery but returned in time to play for Houston in the postseason. He was limited to duty as a pinch-hitter and designated hitter in the World Series against the Chicago White Sox.
He went 1-for-8 in the Series with an RBI.
