Palsgraf Essay

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Palsgraf v. Long Island R.R. Co., Ct. of App. of N.Y., 248 N.Y. 339, 162 N.E. 99 (N.Y. 1928). Facts: The plaintiff, Mrs. Palsgraf, was standing on the defendant’s Long Island Railroad train platform at the time two men were running to board a train. One of the men was carrying a small package covered with newspaper on the outside but containing fireworks on the inside. The man holding the package wash pushed onto the train while boarding, causing the package to fall onto the tracks and explode. The explosion caused scales at the other end of the platform to fall, striking and injuring the plaintiff Mrs. Palsgraf. Mrs. Palsgraf brought a personal injury lawsuit against Long Island Railroad and the railroad appealed the court’s judgment in favor of Mrs. Palsgraf. The judgment was affirmed on appeal and Long Island Railroad appealed. Issues The court ruled that the actions of Long Island Railroad’s guard was wrong in relation to the man carrying the package, but not to the plaintiff Mrs. Palsgraf. Nobody was aware that the package contained fireworks, or that when dropped it would harm a person far from the incident such as Mrs. Palsgraf. In order to declare an act of negligence there must first be a finding that a duty was owed and breached, and that the injury could have been avoided if the defendant had been following that duty. The orbit of the danger or risk associated with a danger or risk is that which a reasonable person would foresee. Decision:Reversed – judgment for Long Island Railroad. Reasoning: The reasoning in this case was that Long Island Railroad did not owe a duty of care to Palsgraf insofar as the package was concerned. Cardozo did not reach the issue of “proximate cause” for which the case is often cited. There is no general principle that a railroad owes no duty to persons on station platforms not in immediate proximity to the tracks, as

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