In the case of Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad Company v. Gotschall, 1916, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Mrs. Gotschall who was suing for damages following her husband's death due to a train accident while he was working as a brakeman for the railroad company. The court found that there were sufficient grounds to believe negligence on part of the employer contributed to Mr. Gotschall’s death and thus upheld an award granted by lower courts despite arguments from the railroad company about alleged errors during trial proceedings including jury instructions and evidentiary rulings related to expert testimony regarding safety standards within industry practices at that time.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Minneapolis & St. Louis Railroad Company v. Gotschall, 1916, argued that the court majority had incorrectly interpreted and applied the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). The dissent believed that FELA was not intended to apply to cases where an employee's death resulted from their own negligence or recklessness without any fault on part of the employer. In this particular case, it was contended that Mr. Gotschall's death occurred due to his own carelessness while performing a dangerous task he chose himself without being ordered by his superiors at work; hence, making it unjust for holding the railroad company liable for damages under FELA provisions which were designed primarily to protect workers against employers' negligence causing injury or death during employment.