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Commentary

Duty After Death

Your dead body causes injury to someone else, and the court rules that you owe a duty of care.

By Christine G. Barlow | Updated on February 08, 2012

In 2008 a commuter was struck and killed by an oncoming Amtrak train. A large part of the commuter’s body flew through the air and struck a bystander waiting for a different train, causing injuries to her shoulder, wrist and leg.

Amazingly enough, the First Judicial District of the Illinois Court of Appeals has ruled that the bystander may sue because her injuries were foreseeable and that the deceased owed her a duty of care. That’s right—your dead body owes a duty of care to passersby. A trial judge had earlier ruled that the accident was not reasonably foreseeable and was tragically bizarre, but the appeals court did not agree.

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