__NOTOC__ Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Sorrell, , was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that the same causation standard applies to railroad negligence under Section 1 of the Federal Employers' Liability Act to employee contributory negligence under Section 3.Syllabus of . Galligan Jr, Thomas C. "Even the Slightest: Causation in Fela and Jones Act Cases." Charleston Law Review 15.2 (2021): 253.Nolan, Brett R. "Are railroads liable when lightning strikes?." The University of Chicago Law Review 79.4 (2012): 1513-1552.
Background
Sorrell was injured while working for a railroad (Norfolk), and sought damages for his injuries in Missouri state court under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), which makes a railroad liable for an employee's injuries "resulting in whole or in part from [the railroad's] negligence," Section 1. FELA reduces any damages awarded to an employee "in proportion to the amount [of negligence] attributable to" the employee, Section 3. Missouri's jury instructions apply different causation standards to railroad negligence and employee contributory negligence in FELA actions. An employee will be found contributorily negligent if their negligence "directly contributed to cause" the injury, while railroad negligence is measured by whether the railroad's negligence "contributed in whole or in part" to the injury. After the trial court overruled Norfolk's objection that the instruction on contributory negligence contained a different standard than the railroad negligence instruction, the jury awarded Sorrell $1.5 million. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed, rejecting Norfolk's contention that the same causation standard should apply to both parties' negligence.
The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Opinion of the court
The Supreme Court issued an opinion on January 10, 2007.
Later developments
References
External links