In a case of first impression, the Commonwealth Court has affirmed the ruling of a workers’ compensation judge that held that an industrial painter’s injury claim from an accident he suffered under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge cannot be litigated in Pennsylvania because it happened on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River.

Plaintiff Zachary Kreschollek filed a workers’ compensation claim for injuries he sustained while working on the bridge for Commodore Maintenance Corp. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel consisting of Judges Mary Hannah Leavitt, Patricia McCullough and Christine Fizzano Cannon held that while Pennsylvania and New Jersey are joint owners of the bridge, Kreschollek had no claim in Pennsylvania, as he was injured while working under the New Jersey side of the bridge.