In Cromwell v. County of Sac, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a county could be held liable for damages caused by its failure to repair a bridge. The plaintiff, Cromwell, had been injured when his horse and wagon fell through the bridge due to its poor condition. The Court held that the county was liable for the damages caused by its failure to repair the bridge. The Court reasoned that the county had a duty to maintain the bridge in a safe condition, and that it had breached that duty by failing to repair the bridge. The Court also noted that the county had been aware of the bridge's condition for some time, and had failed to take any action to repair it. The Court concluded that the county was liable for the damages caused by its failure to repair the bridge, and that the plaintiff was entitled to recover damages from the county. This decision established that counties can be held liable for damages caused by their failure to maintain public roads and bridges in a safe condition.

In Cromwell v. County of Sac, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a county could be held liable for damages caused by its failure to repair a bridge that had been damaged in an accident. The majority opinion found that the county was not liable because it did not have actual knowledge of the damage and thus could not be expected to take action. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that counties should bear some responsibility for maintaining public roads and bridges regardless of their knowledge or lack thereof regarding any particular incident. He argued further that if counties were allowed to escape liability simply due to ignorance then they would have no incentive whatsoever to maintain safe roadways and bridges, which would put travelers at risk unnecessarily. In conclusion, Justice Field believed strongly that counties should be held responsible when accidents occur on public roads or bridges due to negligence in maintenance or repairs even if there is no prior knowledge of such issues existing before the accident occurred.