Crawford v. Halkovics

The majority herein applies the common law principle of contributory negligence to uphold a jury verdict for defendant. In doing so, the court emphasizes that the issue whether plaintiff’s injury was due to her own negligent conduct is a question of fact for the jury to determine, and not subject to a directed verdict.

My concern is that the principle be applied evenhandedly in all cases, for plaintiff and defendant alike. Our holding today must be seen as a two-edged sword, so that in future cases the question whether injury is proximately caused by defendant’s negligence is also submitted to…