A Trailblazing Woman in Personal Injury Lawsuits

Modern personal injury law as it is practiced today was quite rare until the early 1900’s. The first woman who appeared in an historic personal injury suit was the plaintiff in the 1932 British case of Donoghue v. Stevenson. Mrs. May Donoghue, experienced personal injury when a brown tinted bottle of ginger beer she consumed was found to contain a dead snail. As a result of drinking the beer with a friend, she became ill. Women held few rights to land ownership or the vote at the dawn of the 20th century, so Mrs. Donoghue’s pursuit would have required particular courage.

At that time, the common law only acknowledged people harmed by the negligence in limited circumstances. Only cases where a contract existed between the parties were acknowledged for liability. Since there was no contract, May Donoghue could not have taken legal action. She would not have imagined being compensated for expenses due to the dead snail.

A determined solicitor called Walter Leechman took up May's case. He had already brought cases against another drink manufacturer, AG Barr. One of them alleged a dead mouse had been found in a bottle of their ginger beer.

Leechman had lost both cases, but he went ahead against David Stevenson, the manufacturer of the ginger beer. The case went all the way to the highest court in the land. It was heard in the House of Lords on 10th December 1931, three years after May allegedly discovered the snail. The suit was finally settled for £200.

This case set a standard by ascribing negligence to the manufacturer, Mr. Stevenson. Ultimately, it led to a basic set of standards to protect consumers from negligence.

Breaking the Gender Gap in Early Accidental Law

Another trailblazer in personal injury was Professor Barbara Welke of the University of Chicago. Scholars of the history of negligence held that the conduct of all was measured against what a "reasonable man" would have done under the circumstances. Barbara Welke challenged this fundamental assertion. Through trial records, lawyer's written arguments, and appellate opinions, she reconstructs the critical role of gender in shaping the law of accidental injury. As she argues, in 19th- and 20th-century America, injury was a gendered event. The fact that courts in these years held men and women to different standards of care undermines theorists' arguments that economic considerations drove the law of accidental injury. Moreover, the reification of gender norms in private law, in turn, vitally affected the experience of gender in turn-of-the-century America.

As Barbara Welke published, “At the wheels of railroads and streetcars, the law of accidental personal injury, known as negligence, became a discrete body of law between 1870 and 1920. The defining component of negligence was "fault." Fault was the notion that the individuals must have failed to act according to some minimal standard of caution.

Recognizing the First American Female Attorney

As we recognize the many women who blazed trails in personal injury and law in general, we honor Arabella Mansfield. Born Belle Aurelia Babb, she became the first female lawyer in the United States in 1869. She was admitted to the Iowa bar, and she pursued a career in college education and administration. At the time, there was an Iowa state law restricting the bar exam to males. However, Ms. Mansfield attained her degree with high scores. Soon after, Iowa amended its licensing statute and became the first state to accept women and minorities into its bar. By being the first official female lawyer in the US, she is a pioneer in American law.

To learn more about the history of personal injury law, visit: The Law Teacher