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On the day of the explosion, the defendant shipped twenty-five cylinders from Philadelphia to Brooklyn via Pennsylvania Railroad.
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Thousands of similar cylinders had been used safely by the defendant with only the filling test.
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The cylinder was tested to several hundred pounds greater than existed when it was being transported every time it had been charged.
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Thousands of similar cylinders had been used safely with only the filling test.
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The defendant tested the cylinder each time it was filled to a pressure greater than when transported.
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There was no general usage or custom in the country for testing these cylinders.
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A witness testified to a testing method used in England and Switzerland.
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The cylinders were being transferred at Mantua station when one allegedly exploded as Kilbride was handling it.
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There was no general usage or custom in the country for testing these cylinders in the manner suggested by the plaintiff.
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The plaintiff alleged the cylinder was defective and the defendant negligently failed to test it.
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The plaintiff contended that the explosion caused a concussion of the brain, resulting in Kilbride's death.
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John J. Kilbride, an employee of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, died from injuries allegedly caused by the explosion of a cylinder charged with carbon dioxide.
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The defendant company manufactures carbon dioxide and ships it in cylinders to customers.
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The defendant argued there was insufficient proof the tube exploded due to rust and no proof of negligence in failing to test it.
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The cylinder had been tested by the manufacturer at a pressure six times greater than the pressure at the time of the explosion.
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The cylinder had been purchased from National Tube Works, which tested it at 8,700 pounds per square inch, six times the pressure at the time of the explosion.
The court reasoned that the defendant was not negligent because it adhered to the standard of care observed by others in the same business. The defendant tested its cylinders in a manner consistent with industry practices and had no knowledge of any defect in the cylinder that exploded. The court emphasized that negligence cannot be determined based on hindsight or the availability of a special device or precaution not in common use. The standard of care is the observance of prudence as the average prudent man observes it, by following the ordinary usage of his business.
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