Lambie v. WCAB (Curry Lumber Co.)

In Lambie v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Curry Lumber Co.), 736 A.2d 67 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1999), the Court declined to apply the holding of Robbins to find the injured worker spent a substantial amount of working time looking for lumber in Pennsylvania. The claimant in that case worked at a saw mill in Maryland. He testified that he spent approximately two days per week working within Pennsylvania. A coworker corroborated the claimant's testimony. The employer's co-owner disagreed with this assessment and indicated that, at most, the claimant would look for lumber in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia one day per month. The WCJ rejected the claimant's testimony and that of the coworker because it was unclear as to the exact amount of time the claimant spent within the Commonwealth. Further, the WCJ noted a lack of documentary evidence supporting the claimant's claim. In light of the WCJ's credibility determinations, the Court found the claimant failed to prove he spent a substantial amount of his working time in Pennsylvania.