Proximate Cause

Proximate cause is one of the two types of causation recognized under U.S. law. It is also defined as the legal cause of a subsequent event, as well as the cause most directly related to that event.

Proximate cause places limits upon cause in fact, which is determined by what is known as a but-for test. But for the cause, there would have been no effect. But for the rain, the plaintiff would not have gotten wet. But for the driver's fatigue, there would have been no accident.

There are times when but-for test cannot be applied. In a case of concurrent causation, two separate events combine to cause a third event. When this consists of two separate, unconnected acts of negligence by two different individuals that cause an injury to a third party, both of these individuals are held liable under the law - even if the injury would not have occurred if only one of the acts had been committed.

Injury or property loss may also be due to sufficient combined causation. This consists of two separate, unrelated acts of negligence, either of which would have been enough to cause an injury or property damage.

If two parties are equally negligent in a situation, but only one actually injures a third party, U.S. courts have ruled that each party has the burden of proof to show that s/he was not at fault. In the case of Summers v. Tice (33 C2d 80, 1948) two hunters fired their shotgun toward their guide, injuring the latter's eye. It was not possible to determine whose weapon had caused to injury, so both men were held liable.

The basic test of proximate cause is called foreseeability, or the extraordinary hindsight rule. The court asks if a reasonable person could have foreseen the consequences of an act. It is easy to foresee that throwing a rock at a window can cause it to break. If later, someone steps on a piece of the broken glass and cuts themselves as a result, the proximate cause of rock throwing is still met under the doctrine of extraordinary hindsight.

 

 

 

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