Legal Concept of “By Accident” is Breakage vs. Generalized Conditions

The majority of jurisdictions would disagree with the holding of the North Carolina court in Shay v. Rowan Salisbury Schools, 2010 N.C. App. LEXIS 1310 (July 20, 2010). For most jurisdictions, the “by accident” requirement is now deemed satisfied either if the cause was of an accidental character or if the effect was the unexpected result of routine performance of the worker’s duties.

Accordingly, if the strain of a worker’s usual exertions causes collapse from heart weakness, back weakness, hernia, and the like, the injury is held accidental. A minority of jurisdictions require a showing that the exertion was in some way unusual, or make other reservations [See the discussion in Chapter 43].

As noted in Larson’s Workers Compensation Law, Chapter 45, some jurisdictions award compensation from routine exposure causing “breakage” while denying compensation when the result is a more generalized condition, such as heart disease. The discussion of this rather artificial distinction is contained in Chapter 45, which has been updated.