In the case of Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company v. David Campbell in 1898, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving railway company negligence. The plaintiff, David Campbell was injured while working for the defendant's railway company when he fell through an open hatchway that had been left unguarded by another employee. He sued his employer under Iowa state law which held employers liable for injuries caused by fellow employees' negligence if they were acting within their scope of employment at the time of injury. However, federal law only held employers responsible if there was some personal fault or neglect on their part. The court found in favor of Campbell stating that although federal laws did not hold employers accountable for accidents caused by other employees’ carelessness unless it could be traced back to them personally; this rule did not apply because Iowa’s state laws differed from those federally set rules regarding employer liability and therefore took precedence over them in this particular instance.

In the dissenting opinion for Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Company v. David Campbell, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was a departure from established principles of law regarding negligence. He believed that it should be up to a jury to decide whether or not an employer had fulfilled their duty of care towards an employee who was injured while working in dangerous conditions. In this case, he felt there was sufficient evidence to suggest that the railway company could have taken additional precautions to prevent Campbell's injury but failed to do so. Therefore, he disagreed with the majority’s ruling which absolved the company of liability based on its claim that it provided adequate training and supervision for employees like Campbell who worked around moving trains.