Proximate Cause

Definition

Proximate cause is used in tort law to link negligence to liability for an injury caused by an accident. The accident and injury must be shown to be the natural and probable result or consequence of the act(s) of negligence alleged by the attorneys to have been committed. The attorney for the plaintiff must prove that anynegligence (no matter how small) of which the defendant is accused proximately caused the accident and his or her injuries. A defense attorney must at the same time prove that any contributory negligence of the plaintiff proximately caused the accident and any injuries of which the plaintiff complains and they were not primarily caused by the defendant. The traditional method of determining whether one event (e.g., car accident) is the proximate cause of another (traumatic brain injury) is to ask whether one could “reasonably foresee” that the former would lead to the latter. The concept has also been defined as “the conduct or thing, which, in the...