O'Brien v. Cunard S.S. Co.

154 Mass. 272, 28 N.E. 266 (1891)

From our private database of 46,200+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

O'Brien v. Cunard S.S. Co.

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
154 Mass. 272, 28 N.E. 266 (1891)

  • Written by Lauren Petersen, JD
Play video

Facts

O’Brien (plaintiff) was an emigrant passenger on a steamship on her way to Boston. Once in Boston, only individuals with a certificate of vaccination were allowed to go ashore without being detained in quarantine. Cunard Steamship Company (Cunard) (defendant) customarily vaccinated all emigrants who wished to be vaccinated and provided them with a certificate of vaccination. Notices in this regard were posted on the ship in various languages. Approximately two hundred female passengers, including O’Brien, assembled to be vaccinated. The women formed a line to wait for the surgeon to examine each of their arms to determine if they had been previously vaccinated. O’Brien’s turn came and she showed the surgeon her arm. The surgeon informed her that she needed to be vaccinated. In response, O'Brien informed the surgeon that she had been vaccinated previously but it did not leave a mark on her arm. The surgeon then told O’Brien that he should vaccinate her again. O’Brien never told the surgeon that she did not want to be vaccinated. Subsequently, O’Brien held her arm up and was vaccinated by the surgeon, and the surgeon gave O’Brien a certificate of vaccination. After the vaccination, O’Brien experienced complications at the site of the vaccination and blistering all over her body. O’Brien sued Cunard for assault and the trial court directed a verdict for Cunard. O’Brien appealed to the trial court’s ruling to the Supreme Court of Massachusetts.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Knowlton, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 795,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials
  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 795,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 795,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,200 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership