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Palsgraf V. Long Island Analysis and Case Brief

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Palsgraf v. Long Island Analysis and Case Brief
By: Jeffrey Boswell, Steven Casillas, Antwan Deligar & Randy Durham
BMGT 380
Professor Eden Allyn
26 May 13

Facts The plaintiff, Helen Palsgraf, filed a suit against the Long Island Rail Road Company. The plaintiff claimed the Long Island Railroad Company’s negligence resulted in injury to her person. A passenger was attempting to board a moving train and lost his footing. The man looked as though he was going to fall. A guard reached out to help the man onto the train and another guard attempted to push him onto the train from behind. The man was carrying a box that was covered by a newspaper. As the guard reached to catch the man, the box was dislodged and fell on the tracks. Once the box hit the tracks it exploded and caused a chain reaction. On the other side of the platform the explosion caused scales to fall on the plaintiff.

Issue The court must decide if the plaintiff’s rights were violated. Since she filled a suit of negligence against the Long Island Railroad Company she must prove four things. She must prove that the defendant owed her a duty of care. Second, she must prove that the defendants breached that duty. Third, the breach of that duty caused the plaintiff’s injuries. Fourth, the plaintiff must prove that she suffered a legally recognizable injury (Clarkson, Miller, & Cross, 2012, p. 136).

Ruling The appeals court reversed the original decision in favor of the plaintiff and decided that the defendants did not breach that duty of care. To find if the defendants breached that duty the court asked if the injury could have been prevented if the guards followed that duty of care. They did recognize that the guards caused the plaintiff’s injury, but had done so unintentionally. The guards could not possibly foresee the box

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