Legal Definitions - positional-risk doctrine

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.