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

Donation of amount "A," made by donor X to a charity. The charity agrees to pay donor X an amount ("B") for the rest of donor X's life. Since the donation is used to fund an annuity, only a ...

Coverage for two or more persons with the death benefit payable at the death of the last of those insured. Premiums are significantly lower under joint life and survivor insurance than for ...

Type of commercial form that provides coverage for business vehicles regardless of whether they are owned, leased, hired, or borrowed. The form's coverages are divided into the following ...

Protection to maintain the value of a business in case of death or disability of a partner. Upon the death or long-term disability of a partner, insurance can provide for the transfer of a ...

Automatic nonproportional reinsurance treaty or automatic proportional reinsurance treaty that provides coverage for losses upon which claims are made while the treaty is in force, without ...

Stipulation that no claim will be paid until a loss exceeds a flat dollar amount or a given percentage of the amount of insurance in force. After the loss exceeds this dollar amount or ...

Partnership in which family members hold all interest in the partnership. This partnership is treated as a cash flow through stand-alone entity. All sums of income and credits, as well as ...

a large number of homogeneous exposures (in order for the deviation of actual losses from expected losses to approach zero, and thecreditability of the prediction to approach one). loss ...

Combination of property insurance on the hull of an airplane and liability insurance in the following manner: property coverage provided on an ALL RISKS basis or on a specified perils ...

Popular Insurance Questions