Proximate Cause Law & Legal Definition
Proximate cause is used in tort law to link negligence to liability for an injury caused by an accident. The accident and injury must be shown to be the natural and probable result or consequence of the acts of negligence alleged by the attorneys to have been committed. The attorney for the plaintiff must prove that any negligence of which the defendant is accused proximately caused the accident and his or her injuries. A defense attorney must at the same time prove that any contributory negligence of the plaintiff proximately caused the accident and any injuries of which the plaintiff complains.
There may be more than one proximate cause of an accident. Multiple acts of negligence by different people may concur to cause the same accident, yet each may be deemed to be a proximate cause of the accident. Sometimes there is an intervening cause which comes after the original negligence of the defendant and the injured plaintiff, which will either reduce the amount of the defendant's liability. If this intervening cause is the substantial reason for the injury, then the defendant will not be liable at all.
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