Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Case - Essay Example

Facts: Mrs. Hellen Palsgraf was standing on the steps of the train platform when two men ran in to catch the train the second man carried luggage and appeared to be falling when the train employees or guards who were standing by moved in to help him by pushing him into the train. In the course of the entry, the luggage of the second man fell (it had fireworks), so it exploded hitting the tracks (Prosser, 1953). The impact on the tracks initiated the scales on the other end of the train to fall thereby injuring the plaintiff Mrs. Helen Palsgraf. The plaintiff sued the railroad claiming she was injured due to the negligence of the employees of the railroad company.

Judgment: the bench by way of a majority dismissed the application of the plaintiff and instead argued that the actions of the accused employee were too indirectly linked to the injury caused to the plaintiff. In principle, there was no way he could have known what the passenger and owner of the luggage had carried. Thus, the case was dismissed with costs.