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

Time frame during which an annuitant receives income payments from the insurance company, usually on a monthly basis. The obligations of the company to the annuitant during the liquidation ...

Value in life insurance policies that entitle the insured to these choices: to relinquish the policy for its CASH SURRENDER VALUE. (Note that in the beginning years the cash value may be ...

Coverage for less than one year in duration. ...

Reckless action without regard to life, limb, and/or property; for example, driving 100 miles per hour on a road or highway. ...

Independent, nonprofit, membership hospital plan. Benefits provided include coverage for hospitalization expenses subject to certain restrictions: for example, semiprivate room only. A ...

Decision in the absence of a plaintiff or defendant at the specified court time. ...

Term meaning that an exporter of goods that are damaged or destroyed during international shipment relinquishes responsibility for the damage or destruction once the goods leave the point ...

Endorsement to a homeowners insurance policy or a personal automobile policy (pap) that covers physical damage to a snowmobile wherever it happens to be. Coverage can be on named peril or ...

Document setting out the responsibilities of a borrower, such as a corporation issuing bonds, and the powers of a trustee who will be looking after the interests of the bondholders. ...

Popular Insurance Questions