Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
What happened that caused the case to be filed (including what the
plaintiff is claiming)?
- Arthur P Strahan was attempting to load a jukebox into the bed of a
pickup truck with a rear power liftgate on his own. Although Strahan
had a lot of experience loading the jukeboxes in the truck, it happened
to slip off the truck and strike Dewey L Gauldin. Gauldin filed a case
claiming damages received due to negligence.
4. What were the most important facts and legal concepts that
determined the court’s decision?
- The main legal concept used in this case is the doctrine of res ipsa
loquitur. Even though the exact terms differ by case depending on jurisdiction, essentially
the accident must be the cause of negligence solely on the part of the defendant. The
court referred back to Bell v U.S.B. Acquisition Co. and City if Burlington v Dague.
5. Does your team agree with the decision and how might this case
affect HR practice—in other words, what is the “HR takeaway”? What
is the team’s perception of any consequences? Make the connection—
a positive and negative outcome to any decision made is always
present—tie the outcome back to your learnings in the text book,
current events, and/or other cases.
- I agree with the court’s decision. It seems evident that the jukebox
struck Gauldin due to some type of negligence on behalf of Strahan. In
a human resources view, this case shows that when handling heavy
equipment someone should always be supervised. If someone was
assisting Strahan or at least watching over him this unfortunate
incident could have been avoided. But the facts are that he was
loading the jukebox without any help and because he did not exercise
reasonable care someone was injured.