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Labour Legislations




                    Notes          (iii)  Accident: The expression "accident" has not been defined in the Act. It means only unexpected
                                       mishap, toward event, or consequence brought about by some unanticipated or undersigned
                                       act, which could not be provided against. Whether a particular occurrence is an accident or
                                       not, it must be looked upon not only from the point of view of the person who causes it but
                                       also from the point of view of the person who suffers it.

                                       !
                                     Caution  Arising out of and in the course of employment

                                     The expression "arising out of" suggests the cause of accident and the expression "in the
                                     course of" points out to the place and circumstances under which the accident takes place
                                     and the time when it occurred. A causal association between the injury by accident and
                                     employment is necessary. The onus is on the claimant to prove that the accident arose out
                                     of and in the course of  employment. The  employment should have given  rise to  the
                                     circumstances of injury by accident. A direct connection between the injury caused by an
                                     accident and the employment of the workman is not always essential. Arising out of the
                                     employment does not mean that personal injury must have resulted from the mere nature
                                     of employment and is also not limited to cases where the personal injury is referable to
                                     the duties which the workman has to discharge. The words 'arising out of employment'
                                     are understood to mean that during the course of the employment, injury has resulted
                                     from some risk incidental to the duties of the service which unless engaged in the duty
                                     owing to the master, it is reasonable to believe the workman would not otherwise have
                                     suffered. There must be a causal relationship between the accident and employment. If the
                                     accident had occurred on account of a risk which is an incident of the employment; the
                                     claim for compensation must succeed unless of course the workman has exposed himself
                                     to do an added peril by his own imprudence. This expression applies to employment as
                                     such, to its nature, its conditions, its obligations and its incidents and if by reason of any of
                                     these, a workman is brought without the zone of special danger and so injured or killed,
                                     and the Act would apply. The employee must show that  he was at the time of injury
                                     engaged in the  employer's business or in furthering that  business and was not doing
                                     something for his own benefit or accommodation. The question that should be considered
                                     is whether the workman was required or expected to do the thing, which resulted in the
                                     accident, though he might have imprudently or disobediently done the same. In other
                                     words, was the act which resulted in the injury so outside the scope of the duties with
                                     which the workman was entrusted by his employer as to say that the accident did not arise
                                     out of his employment.

                                     The course of employment refers to the period of employment and the place of work. It is
                                     neither limited to the period of actual labour nor includes acts necessitated by the workman's
                                     employment. An injury received within reasonable limits of time and space, such as while
                                     satisfying thirst or bodily needs, taking food or drink is to be regarded as injury received
                                     in the course of employment.

                                   9.3 Concepts Governing Compensation

                                   The purpose of the Workmen's Compensation Act is not to provide for solatium to the workman
                                   or his dependents but to make good the actual losses suffered by him. Compensation is in the
                                   nature of insurance of the workman against certain risk of accident. The rule, that in order to
                                   make the employer liable to pay compensation, death or injury must be the consequence of an
                                   accident arising out of and in the course of his employment.







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