The Commonwealth Court affirmed the ruling of a workers’ compensation judge that determined an industrial painter’s injury claim for an injury he suffered working under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge cannot be litigated in Pennsylvania because it happened on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River.

Zachary Kreschollek worked as an apprentice industrial painter and was working underneath the PATCO rail line on the New Jersey side of the bridge. He was accidentally struck on the arm by a blast of sand, which he tried to dive away from. He broke his fall with his right hand and injured his wrist trying to get away.

He lives in Pennsylvania and was employed as a subcontractor to do the painting job, and worked on both sides of the bridge. He received workers’ compensation benefits from New Jersey and received temporary total disability benefits. He then filed a claim in Pennsylvania, seeking ongoing disability benefits.

Initially the workers’ compensation judge denied and dismissed his petition. The judge concluded that although he was a Pennsylvania resident and had been performing work on the Pennsylvania side of the bridge, the accident occurred when he was on the New Jersey side of the bridge. Upon appeal, the Board affirmed. The claimant’s argument regarding who (which state) truly owned the Benjamin Franklin Bridge was not a relevant factor, as he was standing on the ground under the bridge in New Jersey.

Read the case here.