CACI No. 2921. Causation Under FSAA or BIA
Judicial Council of California Civil Jury Instructions (2024 edition)
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2921.Causation Under FSAA or BIA
If you decide that [name of defendant] [describe violation of the Federal
Safety Appliance Act/Boiler Inspection Act], then this is a cause of harm if
it played any part, no matter how small, in bringing about the [harm/
death], even if other factors also contributed to the [harm/death].
New September 2003
Sources and Authority
• “Actions alleging a violation of the BIA are brought under the FELA. The
standard of causation required in a BIA case is the same as the standard of
causation required in a FELA negligence case.” (Summers v. Missouri Pacific
Railroad System (10th Cir. 1997) 132 F.3d 599, 606, internal citations omitted.)
• “Proximate cause, as traditionally understood, is not required to establish
causation under either the FELA or the BIA. ‘Under the FELA [but not the
BIA], an employee is entitled to recover damages if the employer’s negligence
played any part in producing the injury, no matter how slight.’ ” (Fontaine v.
National Railroad Passenger Corp. (1997) 54 Cal.App.4th 1519, 1525 [63
Cal.Rptr.2d 644], internal citations omitted.)
• Liability under the BIA is established if defendant’s violation of the BIA “played
any part, no matter how small, in bringing about or actually causing, the injury”
to the plaintiff . . . “without any requirement of a showing of negligence on the
part of the defendant.” (Oglesby v. Southern Pacific Transportation Co. (9th Cir.
1993) 6 F.3d 603, 606-609.)
Secondary Sources
42 California Forms of Pleading and Practice, Ch. 485, Railroads, § 485.45
(Matthew Bender)
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© Judicial Council of California.
