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Simmons v. City of Charleston2/19/2002
sk doctrine is the prevalent doctrine in the United States. Id. at § 3.03. Under this doctrine, an injury arises out of the employment if some risk inherent to the employment was a contributing cause of the injury. The risk must be one to which the general public would not be equally exposed. Roberts v. Burlington Indus., Inc., 364 S.E.2d 417, 422-23 (N.C. 1988). The employment must increase the risk of the injury. Id. at 423.
A growing number of courts have adopted the positional-risk doctrine. 1 Larson § 3.05. Under this doctrine, " n injury arises out of the employment if it would not have occurred but for the fact that the conditions and obligations of the employment placed claimant in the position where he was injured." Id.
The actual-risk doctrine ignores whether the risk is common to the public and focuses on whether it is a risk of the particular employment. 1 Larson § 3.04. "It is a more defensible rule than the [increased-risk rule], since there is no real statutory basis for insisting upon a peculiar or increased risk, as long as the employment subjected claimant to the actual risk that caused the injury ." Id.
The City argues spider bites should be subjected to the increased-risk doctrine. South Carolina has applied the increased-risk doctrine to cases of exposure to climatic conditions. In Hiers v. Brunson Construction Co., 221 S.C. 212, 70 S.E.2d 211 (1952), the claimant, a carpenter and a supervisor of construction sites, worked one day while suffering from a cold and several days later died from pneumonia-induced complications. His estate argued that his exposure to harsh weather conditions while on the job exacerbated his condition and contributed to his death. The court stated:
The test as to whether the injury or death arose out of or in the course of employment when caused or hastened by atmospheric conditions, is whether, under all the circumstances, the employee was exposed to a greater risk by reason of his employment and duties than was imposed upon an ordinary member of the public. Hiers, 221 S.C. at 230, 70 S.E.2d at 219.
In affirming the award of benefits, the court further stated: "Where the work and the method of doing the work exposes the employee to the forces of nature to a greater extent than he would be if not so engaged, the industry increases the danger from such forces, and the employer is liable." Id. at 232, 70 S.E.2d at 220.
South Carolina, although not formally adopting or rejecting any of these doctrines, has not applied the increased-risk doctrine in determining the compensability of injuries due to spider bites and bee stings. In Schrader v. Monarch Mills, 215 S.C. 357, 55 S.E.2d 285 (1949), the claimant was bitten by a black widow spider while on a bathroom break at work. The court stated: "An injury arises in the course of employment... when it occurs within the period of the employment at a place where the employee reasonably may be in the performance of his duties and while he is fulfilling those duties or engaged in doing something incidental thereto." Id. at 360, 55 S.E.2d at 287. The court did not address whether a claimant needs to prove that he was at a greater risk of spider bites than the general public. The court affirmed the award of benefits to claimant, finding that the spider bite took place while he was acting within the scope of his employment. Schrader, 215 S.C. at 364, 55 S.E.2d at 288. See also Eagles v. Golden Cove, Inc., 260 S.C. 113, 116, 194 S.E.2d 397, 398 (1973) (finding a bee sting suffered while cutting grass arose out of and in the course of employment).
An accident arises out of employment when the employment is a contributing proximate cause of the acc
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