Hogan v. United Fruit Co.

Citations

• 266 Pa. 266
• 109 A. 668
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 549

Syllabus

<p>Workmen’s compensation — Injury while working as stevedore— Injury occurring on pier on Delaware river — Maritime occupation —Jurisdiction of federal courts — State Compensation Law — Federal Statute, Act of October 6, 1917 — Retroactive effect.</p> <p>1. Prior to the passage of the Act of Congress of October 6,1917, a claim for compensation on account of the death of a workman while working as a stevedore at a pier on the Delaware river, could not be made under the State Workmen’s Compensation Law inasmuch as the occupation was maritime in its nature and the acts of Congress then in force gave exclusive jurisdiction of such claims to the District Courts of the United States.</p> <p>2. The Act of Congress of October 6, 1917, which amended the United States Judicial Code by saving to claimants, for compensation for injuries received in maritime employments, “the rights and remedies under the workmen’s compensation law of any state,” is not retroactive and therefore the State Workmen’s Compensation Board had no jurisdiction of a claim for compensation on account of the death of a workman while engaged as a stevedore, where the accident occurred before the passage of the act, although the claim was not filed until after its passage.</p>