Whitsitt v. Railroad Company was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1881. The case involved a dispute between a railroad company and a former employee, William Whitsitt. Whitsitt had been employed by the railroad company as a conductor and had been injured while on the job. He sued the company for damages, claiming that the company had been negligent in providing a safe working environment. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railroad company, finding that the company had not been negligent in providing a safe working environment. The Court held that the company had taken reasonable steps to ensure the safety of its employees and that Whitsitt had failed to prove that the company had been negligent. The Court also held that Whitsitt had failed to prove that the company had acted with reckless disregard for his safety. The Court's decision in Whitsitt v. Railroad Company established the principle that employers are not liable for injuries sustained by employees in the course of their employment unless the employer has acted with reckless disregard for the safety of the employee. This principle has been applied in numerous cases since then and remains an important part of the law today.

In Whitsitt v. Railroad Company, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a contract between two parties could be enforced when one party had acted in bad faith and attempted to deceive the other. The majority opinion held that such contracts were not enforceable, but Justice Field dissented from this ruling. He argued that while it is true that fraud should never be condoned or rewarded, there are times when an injured party can still recover damages even if they have been deceived by another's bad faith actions. In his view, allowing for recovery of damages would provide some measure of justice to those who have suffered losses due to fraudulent behavior without rewarding the wrongdoer for their deceitful conduct. Furthermore, he noted that denying relief in these cases would create an incentive for unscrupulous actors to take advantage of unsuspecting victims since they know any agreement reached will not be binding on them regardless of how egregious their misconduct may have been.