Common employment was an historical defence in
English tort law
English tort law concerns the compensation for harm to people's rights to health and safety, a clean environment, property, their economic interests, or their reputations. A "tort" is a wrong in civil law, rather than English criminal law, crimi ...
that said workers implicitly undertook the risks of being injured by their co-workers, with whom they were in "common employment". The
US labor law terminology was the "fellow servant rule".
Development
The operation of the doctrine
was seen first in ''
Priestly v Fowler'' in the United Kingdom. In the United States the doctrine was seen in ''
Farwell v. Boston & Worcester R.R. Corp''.
operated by the fellow servant doctrine. According to Katherine Aiken, "persons engaged in the same common pursuit for the same employer were fellow servants and companies were not liable for injuries where a fellow servant was at fault. Thus, either the miner himself or his coworker was ultimately responsible for accidents." Between March 1893 and February 1894, 15 fatalities occurred at the mine.
Abolition
As Australia experienced a relatively influential
labour movement
The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
in the late 19th and early 20th century, statutory compensation was implemented very early in Australia. Each territory has its own legislation and its own governing body.
William Ralph Meredith
Sir William Ralph Meredith, (March 31, 1840 – August 21, 1923) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge. He served as Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, Ontario Conservatives from 1878 to 1894, Chancellor of the Univers ...
was instrumental in creating the workers' compensation system in
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
It was abolished altogether by the
Law Reform (Personal Injuries) Act 1948 in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
The doctrine has been superseded in the United States by
worker's compensation
Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
laws, by which a worker can file for a
quasi-tort, regardless of their co-worker's fault.
See also
*
Contributory negligence
*''
Volenti non fit injuria
''Volenti non fit iniuria'' (or ''injuria'') (Latin: "to a willing person, injury is not done") is a Roman legal maxim and common law doctrine which states that if someone willingly places themselves in a position where harm might result, knowing ...
''
*''
Ex turpi causa non oritur actio''
*
Albro v. Agawam Canal Co.
''Albro v. The Agawam Canal Co.'', 6 Cush. 75 (Mass. 1850), was a case in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that contributed to the "fellow servant rule".
Background
A worker at a cotton manufacturing establishment sued her employer for ...
(1850)
References
English tort law
Legal doctrines and principles
United Kingdom labour law
English legal terminology
{{England-law-stub
es:Volenti non fit injuria
he:הסתכנות מרצון