The rule that an employer is not liable to his or its employee for the negligent acts or omissions of another employee was. Liability rules, compensation systems and safety at work. Fellowservant rule legal definition merriamwebster law. Traditionally, the fellowservant rule barred an employees personal injury action against his or her employer if the employees injury was caused by a coworker. Fellow servant rule law and legal definition uslegal, inc. In reality, government decisions to introduce special compensation schemes for. Fellowservant rule legal definition of fellowservant rule. A commonlaw rule governing jobrelated injuries that prevents employees from recovering damages from employers if an injury was caused by the negligence of a coworker. Common employment was an historical defence in english tort law that said workers implicitly undertook the risks of being injured by their coworkers, with whom they were in common employment. The fellow servant rule was a rule of tort law created in the mid nineteenth century. One of the employees coworkers accidentally bumps into the employee. In the midnineteenth century, a rise in industrial accidents brought to u. This was established in britain through the case of priestly v. The fellow servant rule wanted dead or alive find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate.
Fellow servant definition of fellow servant by the free. Fellowservant rule further readings employers, workers. The us labor law terminology was the fellow servant rule. Under the fellow servant rule, employers were not held liable if the workers injuries resulted in any part from the action or negligence of a fellow employee. A commonlaw rule governing jobrelated injuries that prevents employees from recovering damages from employers. Liability rules, compensation systems and safety at work in europe. For the same reason, fellow workers typically refused to testify on behalf of an. The common law rules of fellow servant, assumption of risk, and. Fellow servant rule fellow servant rule is a common law doctrine that barred or reduced the amount of money an injured employee could recover against an employer if an injury was caused solely by the negligence of a fellow worker.
Fellowservant rule definition of fellowservant rule at. The fellow servant rule was a common law doctrine that barred injured employees from filing personal injury suits against their employer if the injury was caused solely by a fellow workers negligence. For example, an employee works in an employers sawmill. Chief justice shaws prestige and the importance of the decision for emerging industries helped lead to the near universal. Get the definition of fellow servant rule and understand what fellow servant rule means in insurance. Fellowservant rule definition, the commonlaw rule that the employer is not liable to an employee for injuries resulting from the negligence of a fellow employee. Similarly, new york retreated from its rigid stance.