CaseI

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    1. What happened that caused the case to be filed (including what theplaintiff is claiming)?- Arthur P Strahan was attempting to load a jukebox into the bed of apickup truck with a rear power liftgate on his own. Although Strahanhad 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 caseclaiming damages received due to negligence.

    2. What explanation does the organization provide for what happened?- Strahan is unable to give a precise reason for losing control of thejukebox. He thinks the jukebox wheel may have gotten caught onsomething in the truck. Things like this happen so fast. Even with theample experience Strahan has, it is near impossible to give a perfectplay by play of what happened.

    3. What is the Courts decision?- The court decided in Gauldins favor for damages received in thejukebox accident. Straham then appealed the case claiming that therewas not enough evidence to support Gaudins case. The rulingoriginally also granted Gauldins attorney a reward for $145,000, whichwas revoked during the time of the appeal.

    4. What were the most important facts and legal concepts thatdetermined the courts decision?

    - The main legal concept used in this case is the doctrine ofres ipsaloquitur. Even though the exact terms differ by case depending on jurisdiction, essentiallythe 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 caseaffect HR practicein other words, what is the HR takeaway? Whatis the teams perception of any consequences? Make the connectiona positive and negative outcome to any decision made is alwayspresenttie the outcome back to your learnings in the text book,current events, and/or other cases.

    - I agree with the courts decision. It seems evident that the jukeboxstruck Gauldin due to some type of negligence on behalf of Strahan. Ina human resources view, this case shows that when handling heavyequipment someone should always be supervised. If someone wasassisting Strahan or at least watching over him this unfortunateincident could have been avoided. But the facts are that he wasloading the jukebox without any help and because he did not exercise

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    reasonable care someone was injured.

    - I do agree with the verdict. Although accidents occur everyday andat times there is no one to blame for them, in this particular casethere was someone injured and it should not be the responsibility of

    the plaintiff to have to pay for the injuries that occur due to thisincident. It is not guaranteed that if Gaudlin would have had someonehelping him load the jukebox, that the jukebox would not have injuredStrahan, but it would have been much less likely that negligence wouldhave been considered. Strahan was simply walking by when he gotstruck by a jukebox that had lost control due to Gaudlin not havingsufficient help. The HR takeaway from this case would be that be thatyou should only try to undertake what you know you can handle.Asking for help could have avoided this incident.