What Is Proximate Cause?
Proximate Cause is the legal connection between a person’s conduct and an injury that makes the conduct sufficiently related to the harm for liability to be considered. The connection usually depends on whether the injury was a foreseeable result of the conduct and whether another event interrupted the chain of events.
Quick Facts About Proximate Cause
Category
Causation principle
Used for
Linking conduct to injury
Common confusion
Confused with factual cause
Also called
Legal Cause
Often discussed with
Personal injury attorney, Car Accident Claims
Key Takeaways About Proximate Cause
- Foreseeability helps distinguish proximate cause from mere factual connection.
- An intervening event can weaken or break the legal connection.
- Proximate cause is not the same as proving that conduct happened.
How Proximate Cause Works
Proximate cause connects conduct to an injury through a chain of events that the law recognizes as sufficiently related. A court may examine whether the harm was a foreseeable result of the conduct. The analysis also considers whether a separate event interrupted that connection.
Related glossary terms: Causation, Negligence, Liability.
Causation has a factual side and a legal side. Factual cause asks whether the injury would have happened without the conduct. Proximate cause asks whether the conduct remains closely enough connected to the injury for legal responsibility to follow. Negligence may establish wrongful conduct, but causation still requires a separate analysis.
- A sudden, unrelated event may break the chain.
- An expected response to an unsafe act may preserve the connection.
From the Atlanta Auto Law team
When we review a personal injury claim, we trace the events from the alleged misconduct to the reported harm. We examine accident records, medical information, witness accounts, and other evidence to assess whether the injury followed a legally connected and reasonably foreseeable sequence.
Proximate Cause in Practice: A Real-World Example
A driver runs a red light and strikes another vehicle. The collision causes the other driver’s back injury, so the traffic violation may be the proximate cause if the injury followed naturally from the crash and no separate event broke the chain.
Related Services
Related Terms
Causation
Causation is the legal connection between a healthcare professional’s alleged malpractice and a patient’s injury. It…
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to use reasonable care under the circumstances, causing harm to another person…
Liability
Liability is legal responsibility for harm, loss, or damage caused by a person, company, or other…
Comparative Negligence
Comparative Negligence is a legal rule that assigns each party a share of fault for an…
Atlanta Auto Law
Have Questions About Proximate Cause?
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