Also known as: direct cause · proximate cause · proximate causation · legal cause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A causal connection between an actor's tortious conduct and an invasion of a legally protected interest of another that the law deems sufficient to hold the actor responsible for the resulting harm absent a defense.
Derek Douglas, an employee at Desert Oil, failed to secure a valve as required by company protocol. The resulting pressure surge injured a nearby contractor. The failure to follow the required conduct made Desert Oil subject to liability because the omission was a legal cause of the harm.
Diane Dawson left her loaded firearm accessible to her minor son despite prior warnings. The son used the gun to shoot a neighbor's pet. Dawson's negligent supervision was a proximate cause of the shooting, creating her own liability separate from any vicarious responsibility.
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Damian Decker deliberately disabled an access card knowing it would lock Dolores Diaz inside a storage room. The lockdown mechanism activated and confined Diaz for two hours. Decker's act counted as the legal cause of the confinement even though he never touched the door himself.
David Dawson operated heavy machinery without required safety checks. A coworker suffered a crushed hand when the machine malfunctioned. Dawson's conduct placed him in the position of the actor whose actions could subject him to liability toward the injured coworker.
Demetrius Douglas, a driver for Delta Dynamics, ran a red light and struck another vehicle. The plaintiff proved duty, breach, and damages. The remaining issue turned on whether Douglas's conduct was a legal cause of the collision and resulting injuries.
Dominion Capital's security chief remotely triggered a lockdown after an argument with a visitor. The system sealed all exits and held the visitor inside for ninety minutes. The chief's intentional act was the legal cause of the confinement regardless of the indirect method used.
No. Liability arises when the defendant intends confinement and the defendant's act is the legal cause of the plaintiff's confinement, whether the act operates directly or indirectly through another person or mechanism.
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Yes. An intentional act that sets in motion the contact that harms the plaintiff satisfies the causation element even if the defendant never touches the plaintiff directly.
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The plaintiff must show that the losses were a legal consequence of justifiable reliance on the misrepresentation. Independent business decisions or external market events can break the chain of legal causation.
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No. Parental liability requires proof that the parent's own negligence, such as negligent supervision, was a proximate cause of the child's tortious conduct.
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…corporation, in the federal court for the southern district of that State. The issues were whether negligence of defendant was a proximate cause of his injuries and whether negligence of plaintiff contributed. He claimed that, by hauling the car with the open door, defendant violated a duty to him. The defendant insisted that it…