Perkins
v.
Supreme
Court of
243
Prosser,
pp. 252-254
Facts: There was a train-car accident where both parties
were negligent. The train was going too
fast and the car was negligent in driving the car in front of the train. The decedent of the passenger of the car sued
the railroad and won at trial. The
appellate court affirmed. The railroad appealed
to the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
Issue: Was the train’s excessive speed the actual cause (cause-in-fact)
of the collision?
Rule: You can’t sue for negligence unless such negligence was
an actual cause of the harm. Negligence
is an actual cause if it was a substantial factor in bringing about the
harm.
Analysis: The court says that the negligence of the railroad
was an actual cause of the accident if the accident would not have happened “but
for” that negligence. The negligent
conduct in question was running the train at 37 mph as opposed to the 25 mph
prescribed by the railroad’s own rules.
The court says that the
railroad’s negligence may therefore only be found to be the actual cause of the
collision if the collision would not have happened if the train had been
going the proper speed of 25 mph.
The court weighs the evidence
and finds that if the train had been going the proper speed, the collision
would have happened anyway. Therefore,
the train’s excessive speed cannot be said to have been the cause-in-fact of the
collision.
The court rejects an “escape
theory” on the part of the plaintiff that claims that if the train had been
going slower, the driver of the car might have had enough time to get
away. The court says that this is not
supported by evidence, and is in fact “pure conjecture”.
Conclusion: The lower courts’ judgment is reversed and the suit
is dismissed.