Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Remoteness of consequence: In tort law, this means that even if someone did something wrong, they may not be responsible for all the bad things that happened as a result. If the harm is too far away from what they did, they can't be blamed for it.
Definition: Remoteness of consequence is a legal term used in torts to describe the lack of proximate causation between an alleged act by a defendant and the harm suffered by the plaintiff. Even if the plaintiff proves every other element for tortious liability, the defendant will not be liable if the harm suffered by the plaintiff is too far removed from the defendant's conduct. This is also known as remoteness of damage.
Example: A driver runs a red light and hits another car, causing the driver of the other car to suffer a broken arm. The driver of the other car is taken to the hospital and receives medical treatment. However, while at the hospital, the driver of the other car contracts a rare and deadly virus and dies. The driver who ran the red light may be liable for the broken arm, but not for the death of the other driver because the harm suffered was too far removed from the defendant's conduct.
Explanation: In this example, the harm suffered by the plaintiff (death from a rare virus) was too far removed from the defendant's conduct (running a red light) to establish proximate causation. The defendant may be liable for the broken arm, which was a direct result of running the red light, but not for the death of the other driver, which was an unforeseeable consequence of the defendant's conduct.