Matter of Deraway v. Bulk Stor., Inc.

Summary

The court upheld the New York Workers’ Compensation Board’s jurisdiction over a claim arising from an injury the claimant sustained while working in Pennsylvania. It found sufficient contacts between the claimant’s employment and New York, and concluded that the employer’s workers’ compensation policy covered the claim because the claimant was principally employed in Illinois. The court also excused procedural defects in the carrier’s notice of appeal because they caused no prejudice.

Holdings

1. New York had jurisdiction because substantial evidence supported the determination that the employment was sufficiently and significantly connected with New York.
2. The carrier's policy covered the claim because the claimant was principally employed in Illinois, and the undefined phrase 'principally employed' had to be construed against the carrier.
3. The notice of appeal was not invalidated by the carrier's typographical identification of the employer as the appealing party or by failure to timely serve the employer, because there was no prejudice and the employer was aware of and participated in the appeal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether sufficient contacts existed between New York and the employer's employment relationship to confer New York Workers' Compensation Board jurisdiction over an injury occurring in Pennsylvania.
2. Whether the carrier's policy covered the claim under its provision covering employees principally employed in Illinois.
3. Whether defects in the carrier's notice of appeal rendered the appeal invalid.

Disposition

affirmed