Legal Definitions - Proximate cause

Proximate cause refers to the primary cause of an injury or damage that is direct enough and foreseeable enough to hold someone legally responsible. While many events might contribute to an outcome, proximate cause establishes the specific action or inaction that directly led to the harm, making it appropriate to assign legal liability. It essentially asks whether the injury was a natural, direct, and probable consequence of the defendant's actions, rather than an unforeseeable or remote chain of events.

Here are some examples illustrating proximate cause:

• Example 1: Negligent Driving

  A delivery driver, distracted by their phone, swerves into another lane without signaling, causing a collision with an oncoming car. The driver of the oncoming car suffers whiplash and significant damage to their vehicle.

  How it illustrates proximate cause: The distracted delivery driver's negligent act (swerving without signaling due to distraction) is the proximate cause of the other driver's injuries and vehicle damage. It was a direct and foreseeable consequence that such an action could lead to an accident and harm.

• Example 2: Unsafe Premises

  A grocery store employee mops a section of an aisle but fails to place any "wet floor" warning signs. A customer, unaware of the wet surface, slips, falls, and breaks their wrist.

  How it illustrates proximate cause: The grocery store's failure to warn customers about the wet floor is the proximate cause of the customer's broken wrist. It is a direct and foreseeable outcome that someone might slip and injure themselves if not alerted to a hazardous condition like a wet floor.

• Example 3: Defective Product

  A toy manufacturer produces a batch of children's swings with a known design flaw in the hanging mechanism. A parent purchases one of these swings, and while their child is using it, the faulty mechanism breaks, causing the child to fall and suffer a concussion.

  How it illustrates proximate cause: The manufacturer's production and sale of a swing with a defective design is the proximate cause of the child's concussion. The injury was a direct and foreseeable result of the product's inherent flaw, which the manufacturer was responsible for.