In the case of Texas & Pacific Railway Company v. Howell, decided in 1911, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Texas & Pacific Railway Company. The dispute arose when Howell sued the railway company for damages after he was injured while working as a brakeman due to an alleged defect in equipment provided by his employer. However, it was found that Howell had been aware of this defect but continued to use the equipment without complaint or request for repair or replacement. The court held that since Howell knew about and voluntarily assumed risk associated with using defective equipment, he could not hold his employer liable for injuries sustained from its use under common law principles known as "assumption of risk". This doctrine essentially states that if an employee knowingly and willingly exposes themselves to danger inherent in their work duties then they cannot later sue their employers over resulting injuries.

In the dissenting opinion for Texas & Pacific Railway Company v. Howell, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's ruling that a railway company could be held liable for injuries sustained by an employee due to negligence of another employee. He argued that this interpretation was inconsistent with previous rulings and federal law which exempted employers from liability in such cases unless they were directly responsible or had knowledge of potential harm. Furthermore, he contended that it was unreasonable to expect companies to ensure absolute safety in inherently dangerous industries like railroads where accidents are inevitable despite all precautions taken. Therefore, according to him, holding employers accountable for every accident would place an undue burden on them and potentially disrupt industry operations.