This element asks whether the injury originated in a risk connected to the employment. Courts apply various tests including increased risk, actual risk, and positional risk, which differ in how closely the hazard must relate to the job.
It is paired with the course of employment requirement addressing time, place, and activity.
Alternative Names:
AOE, Arising Out Of
Why it Matters?
This element is where compensability is contested for injuries that happen at work but stem from personal risks: an idiopathic fall from a preexisting condition, an assault arising from a personal dispute, or an injury during a purely personal activity on the premises. Which risk test the state applies frequently determines the outcome, since a positional risk jurisdiction compensates injuries that an increased risk jurisdiction would deny.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between arising out of and in the course of employment?
Is an idiopathic fall compensable?
