Employers' Liability Each Accident
The maximum amount an Employers' Liability policy will pay for bodily injury by accident arising from a single workplace accident, regardless of the number of employees injured.
Overview
The Employers' Liability Each Accident limit (often abbreviated "EL Each Accident" or labeled "E.L. EACH ACCIDENT" on the ACORD 25) is the maximum amount the Part B Employers' Liability coverage of a Workers' Compensation policy will pay for bodily injury by accident arising from a single workplace accident. It is one of three standard EL limits shown on every workers' compensation certificate: Each Accident, Disease Each Employee, and Disease Policy Limit.
Employers' Liability responds when an injured employee — or a third party on the employee's behalf — sues the employer for damages beyond the statutory benefits of workers' compensation. This happens through several legal theories: dual capacity, third-party over actions, loss of consortium, consequential bodily injury to a family member, or intentional tort exceptions to the exclusive remedy. The EL Each Accident limit caps the policy's payout for all such claims arising from a single accident.
A standard minimum limit for EL Each Accident is $1,000,000. This amount has become so common that contracts frequently specify exactly "$1,000,000 / $1,000,000 / $1,000,000" for the three EL limits without further elaboration. Many small-business workers' compensation policies default to a lower $100,000 or $500,000 limit unless specifically requested higher — a detail that matters for compliance.
How It Works
The EL Each Accident limit applies to all damages arising from a single accident, regardless of how many employees are injured. If a single accident injures three employees, and all three bring EL claims against the employer, the Each Accident limit caps the total payout for those three claims combined.
Example: A warehouse vendor has $1,000,000 EL Each Accident coverage. A forklift accident injures two employees. Both employees' spouses sue the employer for loss of consortium (a legal theory that can bypass workers' comp exclusive remedy). The two claims settle for $600,000 and $500,000 respectively — a total of $1,100,000. Because the Each Accident limit is $1,000,000, the EL coverage pays $1,000,000, and the employer is responsible for the remaining $100,000 (unless an umbrella policy with EL drop-down applies).
The Each Accident limit is distinct from the Disease limits because disease claims typically arise gradually from cumulative exposure rather than from a single identifiable event. The Each Accident limit covers discrete workplace accidents; the Disease limits cover occupational disease claims.
Typical Limits
| Context | Typical EL Each Accident |
|---|---|
| Default on small-business WC | $100,000 or $500,000 |
| Common contract minimum | $1,000,000 |
| Large commercial / construction | $1,000,000 - $2,000,000 |
| High-risk or high-wage operations | $2,000,000 - $5,000,000 |
The "$1M / $1M / $1M" pattern (Each Accident / Disease Each Employee / Disease Policy Limit) is the de facto industry standard for mid-market contracts and appears in the overwhelming majority of commercial lease, construction, and services agreements.
Where it appears on ACORD 25
The EL Each Accident limit appears in the WORKERS COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY block on the ACORD 25, on the right-hand side of the block where the limits column sits. The label printed on the form is typically E.L. EACH ACCIDENT $. The left side of the block carries the WC policy information (policy number, effective and expiration dates, PER STATUTE or OTHER checkbox, proprietor-excluded Y/N checkbox).
Inori's extraction schema stores this field as el_each_accident (numeric) in the WCExtractionSchema. A blank field or a value of zero typically indicates either a monopolistic state policy (where EL is not included in the state fund coverage) or an ACORD completed incorrectly.
Why It Matters for Compliance
- Standard contract minimum: The $1,000,000 EL Each Accident threshold is so widespread that it serves as Inori's default compliance rule for most customers' contract templates. Vendors with $100,000 or $500,000 limits are flagged against standard contract requirements.
- Monopolistic state edge case: In monopolistic workers' comp states (Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, Wyoming), Employers' Liability coverage is not included in the state fund's WC policy. Vendors in those states must carry separate "Stop Gap" Employers' Liability coverage, which may or may not appear on the ACORD 25 in the expected location. Inori handles this edge case by allowing state-specific rules and by surfacing Stop Gap endorsements when detected.
- Independent of WC statutory limits: Workers' Compensation Part A (statutory benefits) has no dollar limits — those are set by state statute. The EL Each Accident limit is independent and must be verified separately.
Related Concepts
EL Each Accident is one of three standard Employers' Liability limits. See EL Disease Each Employee and EL Disease Policy Limit for the other two, and Employers' Liability for the broader coverage context. For the statutory benefits side of WC, see per statute and workers' compensation.
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