In the case of Great Northern Railway Company v. Otos (1915), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railway company, reversing a decision made by the Supreme Court of North Dakota. The case revolved around an accident that occurred when Mr. Otos was struck and injured by one of Great Northern's trains while he was driving his wagon across a railroad crossing at night time without any lights on his vehicle or warning signals from flagmen or gates at this particular crossing point. The court held that it is not negligence per se for a railway company to operate its trains over public crossings within city limits without having flagmen stationed thereat, nor does such operation constitute evidence of negligence unless required under local regulations or conditions making it necessary for safety purposes. Furthermore, they stated that where no statute requires vehicles using public highways after dark to carry lights, their absence would not be contributory negligence as a matter of law but could be considered as evidence thereof in connection with other circumstances surrounding an accident.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Great Northern Railway Company v. Otos argued that the majority's decision was inconsistent with previous rulings and misinterpreted the law regarding employers' liability for injuries sustained by employees. The dissent emphasized that under federal law, an employer is liable if they fail to provide a safe workplace, even if an employee willingly accepts known risks associated with their job. They contended that this principle should apply regardless of whether or not there were specific regulations governing safety measures in place at the time of injury. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of "assumption of risk," arguing it should only be applied when an employee knowingly and voluntarily assumes a particular risk directly related to their work duties - not as a blanket defense against all potential hazards on site.