A railroad employee filed a negligence action against his employer under FELA. The employee was injured while engaging in switching the rail carts, and claimed 1) his employer required him to utilize unsafe switching equipment, and 2) his employer failed to properly train him to use the equipment.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States held: the appropriate standard for establishing liability under FELA is whether or not the railroad’s negligence played a party in bringing about the injury, not the common-law proximate cause standard for negligence.

For the full opinion, please visit: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/10-235.pdf