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LSDefine

Simple English definitions for legal terms

intervening cause

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A quick definition of intervening cause:

An intervening cause is an event that happens after someone does something dangerous or wrong, but before someone gets hurt. This event can break the connection between the dangerous action and the harm that could have been caused. This means that the person who did the dangerous thing may not be responsible for the harm anymore. For example, if someone punches another person and they hit their head on a car and then the ground, but later they don't take their medicine and die, the punch is still the cause of their death because it caused mental injuries that led to the victim not taking their medicine.

A more thorough explanation:

An intervening cause is an event that occurs after a dangerous or improper action by a party and before the harm that could have been caused by the action. This event breaks the chain of causation between the original act and the injury to the victim. The presence of an intervening cause can mean that the person who started the chain of events may no longer be held responsible for the damages to the injured person since the original action is no longer the proximate cause.

In the case of State v. Smith in Ohio, the defendant punched the victim in the head, causing the victim to hit his head on a nearby car and then the pavement. The victim was rushed to the hospital for his head injuries, but he refused to get a CAT scan. His head injuries persisted, and he continued to feel sick and confused when he returned home. He failed to take his insulin, and days after the punch, the victim died. The court found that the victim's failure to take his insulin was not an intervening cause since the punch caused the victim to fail to take his medicine through the mental injuries. The defendant was found guilty of homicide.

This example illustrates how an intervening cause can break the chain of causation between the original act and the harm to the victim. In this case, the victim's failure to take his insulin was not considered an intervening cause since it was caused by the mental injuries resulting from the punch.

intervene | intervention

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Dkk
19:42
SEO is big money
2016 pushed the conservative party into populism irreversibly
Dkk
19:43
Maybe, but if this is populism, then every election is populist.
19:43
@Dkk: yeah register 1 website and every swinging tom dick and harry calls/emails/texts to 'help with seo'. like bruh, if YOU found it, what i am doing is working
Dkk
19:43
Indeed!
19:48
wasp, i think people are hopeful for a gov who at least attempts to care about the common man
MIAMI A
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:55
How does one know if they are UR1 or UR2?
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:56
CONGRATS MACAQUE!
TY
got a random stanford email and almost had a heart attack
ALSO CONGRATS!
Congrats1!
21:15
Miami A, yall I'm so excited I could cry.
21:15
Feel like I can finally stop holding my breath!! Whew!!!
[] baddestbunny
22:16
every time I get accosted by a strange man who follows me around because my male coworkers were too busy talking to walk me back to my car I get closer to saying we need to bring back traditional gender roles
Dkk
22:32
Nice! @Macaque
Dkk
22:32
@Aromatic, Have to guess.
Dkk
22:33
That sucks @Bunny do you have to go to the hospital?
[] baddestbunny
22:40
I said accosted not assaulted
23:35
guys. my notre dame address just went long is this good or bad
1a2b3c4d26z
23:37
Oooooo me too
23:37
omg is this good or bad
Dkk
23:47
Idk if gender roles are gunna fix that then.
23:49
it looks like most people who applied in october last cycle didn't get a decision until january... does it even mean anything that our addresses went long??
hows ED 2 compared to ED 1?
Dkk
0:10
No idea
windyMagician
0:34
reporting live to say my ndls address also went long
does it mean anything ^
Dkk
2:21
NDLS and Fordham took a very long time last year. It's good info for people to know.
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