10/24/2007 11:18:07 AM EST
Embry on Crossing the Jensen Line and Coppola v. Logistec Connecticut, Inc.
In Coppola v. Logistec Connecticut, Inc., 283 Conn. 1, 925 A.2d 257 (2007), the Connecticut Supreme Court reversed the Connecticut Workers' Compensation Commission and ruled that the state has concurrent jurisdiction with the federal government over certain claims involving injuries incurred on navigable waters. This commentary, written by Stephen C. Embry, a past chairman of the American Trial Lawyers Section on Workers' Compensation, examines the Court's ruling and the status of the Jensen line of cases. Embry asserts that the Connecticut Supreme Court correctly refused to follow the employer’s argument that the employee’s claim was barred under the admiralty supremacy doctrine that was established by the United States Supreme Court almost a century ago in Southern Pacific Company v. Jensen, 244 U.S. 205, 37 S. Ct. 524; 61 L. Ed. 1086 (1917).