Responding to An Emergency: Positional Risk Doctrine in Workers’ Compensation

According to Florida Statute 440.092(3) injuries are compensable (where a carrier must provide medical and money benefits) if the employment places an employee in a position that requires him or her, by ordinary standards of humanity, to respond to an emergency. The idea behind this doctrine was to encourage employees to undertake humanitarian acts designed to prevent or minimize harm to the public.

In a Florida Supreme Court Case, D. L. Cullifer and Son, Inc. v. Martinez, 572 So. 2d 1360 (Fla. 1990), an employer asked an employee to help move a disabled car from the highway. When the employee did so, the employee was injured in the process. The court held “when an employee, during his employment, perceives an imminent danger to the public, such as an obstruction in the roadway, an endeavor to alleviate the danger should be considered incidental to his employment.” This doctrine does not require the emergency act to be so dire or desperate as to be an act that saves lives. It can also be applicable when an employee is injured when trying to save property.

In cases where a person is injured at work responding to an emergency, the court is looking for two factors: 1) was the deviation an emergency and 2) was the emergency designed to save life or property.

If you were hurt in an emergency on the job and want to know more about your legal rights, call us at Harris Guidi Rosner to discuss your case for a free confidential consultation. We can be reached at (904) 777-7777 or by email at mills@harrisguidi.com.

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Kendall Mills

A Florida native, Kendall has been a Workers' Compensation Attorney for over 17 years. She is an attorney with the Jacksonville Law Firm of Harris Guidi Rosner, P.A.. Kendall has lectured at numerous seminars, including continuing education classes for workers’ compensation claims professionals and she is certified by the Florida Department of Insurance as an instructor in Florida Workers’ Compensation.
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