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Simple English definitions for legal terms
positional-risk doctrine
Read a random definition: secundum artem
A quick definition of positional-risk doctrine:
The positional-risk doctrine is a rule that says if an employee gets hurt while they are doing their job, their injury is considered to have happened because of their work. This is true even if the injury wasn't caused by something directly related to their job, as long as the injury happened while they were doing something that their job required them to do. This rule is also called the positional risk analysis or positional risk test.
A more thorough explanation:
The positional-risk doctrine is a principle used in workers' compensation cases. It states that if an employee is injured while performing their job duties, the injury is considered to have arisen out of employment if the employee's job required them to be at the place where the injury occurred at the time it occurred.
For example, if a construction worker falls off a ladder while working on a building, the injury is considered to have arisen out of employment because the worker's job required them to be at the construction site and working on the building at the time of the injury.
Another example would be a delivery driver who is injured in a car accident while making a delivery. The injury would be considered to have arisen out of employment because the driver's job required them to be driving and making deliveries at the time of the accident.
The positional-risk doctrine is important in determining whether an injury is covered by workers' compensation insurance. If the injury is found to have arisen out of employment, the employee may be eligible for benefits such as medical expenses and lost wages.