Legal Definitions - acceptance doctrine

The acceptance doctrine is a principle in construction law that states that once an owner accepts the work of a contractor, the contractor is not liable to third parties for any injury that arises from the contractor's negligence in performing under the contract. However, there is an exception to this rule if the injury results from a hidden, imminently dangerous defect that the contractor knows about and the owner does not know about.

Let's say a contractor builds a deck for a homeowner. The homeowner inspects the deck and accepts the work. Later, a guest at a party on the deck falls through a weak spot and is injured. Under the acceptance doctrine, the contractor would not be liable for the guest's injuries unless the contractor knew about the weak spot and failed to disclose it to the homeowner.

Another example could be a contractor who installs a faulty electrical system in a building. If the owner accepts the work and later a tenant is injured due to an electrical fire caused by the faulty system, the contractor would not be liable unless they knew about the defect and failed to disclose it to the owner.

These examples illustrate how the acceptance doctrine protects contractors from liability once their work has been accepted by the owner, as long as there are no hidden, imminently dangerous defects that the contractor knew about and failed to disclose.