In The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Company v. Sebre Howard, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a railroad company could be held liable for injuries sustained by an employee while on duty. At issue in this case was whether or not the employer had taken reasonable care to provide a safe working environment for its employees. The court found that although there were some safety measures in place at the time of injury, they were inadequate given the circumstances and thus ruled against the railroad company. This decision established that employers must take all necessary steps to ensure their workers are provided with a safe workplace and can be held accountable if they fail to do so.

In the dissenting opinion of The Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Company v. Sebre Howard, Justice McLean argued that the plaintiff should not be held liable for damages caused by a defect in its railroad track. He reasoned that since it was impossible to inspect every inch of track on a daily basis due to its length and complexity, it would be unreasonable to hold them responsible for any defects they could not have known about or prevented. Furthermore, he noted that there were no laws requiring regular inspections at the time so holding them accountable would set an unfair precedent. In conclusion, Justice McLean believed that while negligence may have been involved in this case due to lack of inspection procedures being implemented by the company prior to the incident occurring; however liability should still rest with those who actually created or caused said defect rather than with those who had no knowledge nor control over it.