Cay v. State of Louisiana, Dep't of Transportation and Development
Supreme Court of Louisiana
631 So. 2d 393 (La. 1994)
Keith Cay, intoxicated and walking on the wrong side of a bridge, moved sharply toward the railing and fell to his death, with no witnesses and no certain explanation for why he fell; his parents (plaintiffs) sued the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (defendant), alleging the bridge's guardrails were four inches shorter than required by applicable safety standards, and that DOTD knew pedestrians used the bridge but failed to correct the height. The trial court found for the Cays, allocating some fault to Keith's intoxication but finding DOTD breached its duty by failing to correct the guardrail height, and the court of appeals affirmed, finding the inadequate railing a cause in fact of Keith's death; the Louisiana Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether a plaintiff in a negligence action must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant's action or inaction was a cause in fact of the plaintiff's injury, even where the precise mechanism of the injury is unwitnessed and uncertain.