Fetzer v. North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance

[¶ 16] I respectfully dissent. I would adopt the positional-risk doctrine and reverse the district court judgment affirming the Administrative Order.

[¶ 17] Before 1977, our statute defined a compensable injury as one arising in the “course of employment.” See Schlenk v. Aerial Contractors, Inc., 268 N.W.2d 466, 469 (N.D.1978). Our legislature amended the definition of a compensable injury in 1977 to “an injury by accident arising out of and in the course of employment.” 1977 N.D. Sess. Laws ch. 579, § 2. Our Court’s interpretation of this amendment, which added the words “out of and,” was…