Definition of "Dual capacity doctrine"

Rule of law under which a defendant who has two or more relationships with a plaintiff may be liable under any of these relationships. For example, an employer may be liable in two ways to an employee who incurs bodily injury on the job as the result of using a product or service produced by that employer: first, as the employer of the injured employee, and second, as the producer of the product or service that caused injury to the employee. The injured employee may then either collect benefits for job-related injuries under workers compensation or sue the employer as the producer of the defective product or service. For example, if an employee injures an arm at work while operating a machine with a defective blade that the employer manufactures, the employee can receive benefits under workers compensation or sue the employer as the manufacturer of the defective blade.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Method of underwriting by which one or a group of Lloyd's underwriters write business on behalf of a number of Lloyd's syndicates and other insurance companies. Among the benefits of ...

Coverage of two or more persons with the death benefit payable at the first death. Premiums are significantly higher than for policies that insure one person, since the probability of ...

Organization based in Washington, D.C., that is composed of risk and insurance managers of various public entities, to include municipalities and school boards. ...

Insurance arrangement in which all employees of a given business firm are accepted into a plan regardless of their physical condition. The employee cannot be required to take a physical ...

Use of engineering approved fire resistive construction materials exclusively within a structure. ...

Same as term Mortality Table: chart showing rate of death at each age in terms of number of deaths per thousand. ...

Coverage provided by the pension benefit guaranty corporation (pbgc) that guarantees participants a certain level of pension benefits even if the plan terminates without assets. The PBGC ...

Group arrangement in which a network of attorneys provides legal services to the participants in the plan with the attorney fees being reimbursed by the provider. The attorneys who are ...

Legal status giving an insurance company all rights to an insured's property. The abandonment clause is usually found in marine insurance and not in other property insurance policies such ...

Popular Insurance Questions