peculiar risk doctrine
peculiar-risk doctrine. The principle that an employer will be liable for injury caused by an independent contractor if the employer failed to take precautions against a risk that is peculiar to the contractor’s work and that the employer should have recognized. — Also termed peculiar-risk exception. [Cases: Master and Servant 319. C.J.S. Employer–Employee Relationship §§ 236, 239–240, 245.]
