fellow-servant rule
Very lowFormal, historical legal
Definition
Meaning
A historical common-law legal doctrine stating that an employer is not liable for injuries to an employee caused by the negligence of another employee (a 'fellow servant').
A principle which was used as a defence by employers to bar workers from suing for on-the-job injuries, based on the idea that employees assume the risks associated with the carelessness of their co-workers.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The term is archaic in modern legal practice. It was largely abolished by workers' compensation statutes in the early 20th century.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The doctrine originated in English common law (Priestly v. Fowler, 1837) and was adopted and heavily applied in the United States. The term is used equally in historical discussions of both UK and US legal history.
Connotations
Now carries connotations of outdated, harsh industrial-era employment law and laissez-faire capitalism.
Frequency
Extremely rare in modern usage, confined to historical and legal academic texts.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
The [employer/company] invoked the fellow-servant rule.The court applied the fellow-servant rule to bar the claim.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[No common idioms]”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Not used in modern business contexts.
Academic
Used in historical, legal, and labour history studies.
Everyday
Never used in everyday conversation.
Technical
Specific technical term for historical tort law.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The judgment effectively fellow-servant-ruled the injured worker.
American English
- The court fellow-servant-ruled the plaintiff's claim.
adverb
British English
- [Not used as an adverb]
American English
- [Not used as an adverb]
adjective
British English
- The fellow-servant rule defence was no longer tenable.
American English
- They faced a fellow-servant rule objection.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- [Too complex for A2]
- The fellow-servant rule was an old law for workers.
- Under the fellow-servant rule, an injured railway worker could not sue his employer if another worker caused the accident.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'fellow servant' as a co-worker; this RULE protected the boss from being sued for a co-worker's mistake.
Conceptual Metaphor
THE WORKPLACE IS A SEPARATE SPHERE OF RISK (where employees, not employers, bear the consequences of peer actions).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating 'fellow-servant' as 'товарищ-слуга'. It is a fixed legal term best rendered descriptively as 'правило об ответственности работодателя за действия другого работника' or by using the historical doctrinal name.
Common Mistakes
- Using it to describe modern workplace safety laws.
- Spelling as 'fellow servant rule' without the hyphen.
- Confusing it with 'vicarious liability', which is its opposite.
Practice
Quiz
What was the primary effect of the fellow-servant rule?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it has been almost universally abolished by workers' compensation laws in developed countries.
It placed the full financial burden of workplace injuries, often caused by inadequate safety measures, onto the lowest-paid workers, insulating the employer from liability.
It originated in the English case of Priestly v. Fowler in 1837.
It was replaced by principles of employer liability and no-fault workers' compensation schemes.