Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp.

E796586

Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in which the estate of nuclear worker and whistleblower Karen Silkwood successfully sued her employer for plutonium contamination, affirming the availability of state tort remedies alongside federal nuclear regulation.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case ⓘ
nuclear regulation case ⓘ
tort law case ⓘ
areaOfLaw federal preemption doctrine ⓘ
products liability ⓘ
workplace safety ⓘ
arguedDate 1983-10-04 ⓘ
citation Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238 (1984) ⓘ
country United States ⓘ
court Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate 1984-01-11 ⓘ
defendant Kerr-McGee Corporation ⓘ
dissentBy Justice John Paul Stevens ⓘ
linked to: John Paul Stevens

Justice Warren E. Burger ⓘ
linked to: Warren E. Burger

Justice William H. Rehnquist ⓘ
docketNumber 81-2159 ⓘ
fullName Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. ⓘ
holding federal nuclear safety regulation does not preempt state-law tort remedies ⓘ
state-law punitive damages are not preempted by the Atomic Energy Act ⓘ
impact strengthened role of state tort law in nuclear and hazardous industries ⓘ
joinedByInMajority Justice Harry A. Blackmun ⓘ
linked to: Harry A. Blackmun

Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. ⓘ
linked to: Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor ⓘ
Justice Thurgood Marshall ⓘ
linked to: Thurgood Marshall

Justice William J. Brennan Jr. ⓘ
jurisdiction federal question jurisdiction ⓘ
keyPrinciple Congress did not intend to displace traditional state tort law in nuclear safety context ⓘ
federal regulation can coexist with state tort remedies unless clearly preempted ⓘ
legalIssue availability of punitive damages under state law for nuclear incidents ⓘ
whether federal nuclear safety regulation preempts state tort law ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy Justice Byron White ⓘ
linked to: Byron R. White
originatingCircuit United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ⓘ
originatingCourt United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ⓘ
plaintiff Estate of Karen Silkwood ⓘ
rearguedDate 1983-11-30 ⓘ
relatedCase Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. ⓘ
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission ⓘ
relatedOrganization Kerr-McGee Nuclear Corporation ⓘ
relatedPerson Karen Silkwood ⓘ
relatedTopic nuclear whistleblowing in the United States ⓘ
resultBelow judgment for Silkwood's estate with compensatory and punitive damages ⓘ
shortName Silkwood ⓘ
statuteInterpreted Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ⓘ
Price-Anderson Act ⓘ
subjectMatter federal preemption ⓘ
nuclear safety ⓘ
punitive damages ⓘ
state tort remedies ⓘ
SupremeCourtDisposition affirmed in part and reversed in part ⓘ
volume 464 U.S. 238 ⓘ
vote 5-4 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Karen Silkwood → legalCase → Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. ⓘ
Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. → fullName → Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. ⓘ
Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. → citation → Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238 (1984) ⓘ
linked to: Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp.
Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. → plaintiff → Estate of Karen Silkwood ⓘ
linked to: Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp.