Legal Definitions - independent force

An independent force, in legal terms, refers to an event or action that occurs after an initial act of negligence or wrongdoing, but before the resulting harm or injury. This force is considered independent because it is separate from and not directly caused by the original act. If this independent force is sufficiently powerful, unforeseeable, and breaks the natural chain of events leading to the injury, it can relieve the original wrongdoer of liability for the ultimate harm. It essentially becomes the new, primary cause of the injury.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: Negligent Parking and a Natural Disaster

  A delivery driver negligently parks their truck in a "no parking" zone, obstructing a fire lane. Hours later, an unprecedented and sudden earthquake strikes the area, causing a nearby building to collapse onto the truck, completely destroying it and damaging the adjacent street. The building would have collapsed regardless of whether the truck was there.

  How it illustrates the term: The earthquake is an independent force. While the driver's act of parking illegally was negligent, the earthquake was an unforeseeable and overwhelming natural event that directly caused the destruction of the truck and the surrounding damage. The illegal parking did not cause the earthquake, nor did it significantly contribute to the building's collapse in the face of such a powerful natural disaster. The earthquake broke the chain of causation between the negligent parking and the ultimate destruction.

• Example 2: Faulty Wiring and an Intentional Act

  A landlord fails to repair known faulty electrical wiring in an apartment building, which is a negligent omission. Before any fire occurs due to the wiring, an arsonist intentionally breaks into the building and sets a fire that completely destroys the property.

  How it illustrates the term: The arsonist's act is an independent force. While the landlord's failure to fix the wiring was negligent and could have eventually led to a fire, the arsonist's deliberate act of setting the fire was a separate, intentional, and unforeseeable event that directly caused the destruction of the building. The arson broke the causal link between the landlord's negligence and the fire's occurrence, potentially relieving the landlord of liability for the fire damage itself.

• Example 3: Improperly Stored Chemicals and a Freak Accident

  A chemical company negligently stores hazardous chemicals in improperly sealed containers in its warehouse. One night, a small, private plane experiences an engine failure and crashes directly into the warehouse, rupturing the containers and causing a massive chemical spill and explosion.

  How it illustrates the term: The plane crash is an independent force. While the chemical company was negligent in its storage practices, the plane crash was an entirely separate, unforeseeable, and catastrophic event that directly caused the rupture of the containers, the spill, and the explosion. The negligent storage did not cause the plane to crash, and the crash was the direct cause of the immediate disaster, breaking the chain of causation from the initial negligent storage.