Articles Tagged with proximate cause

In Fort Myers personal injury cases, proving proximate is key.

Causation generally is a key element in any personal injury claim. Injury cases mostly stem from allegations of negligence. To prove general negligence, we have to show the defendant owed our client a duty of care, they failed to use reasonable care, and that failure caused our client’s injuries. Causation is the crux of what connects the conduct of the defendant to the injuries of the plaintiff.

If the defense can prove something else was a greater factor in causing the plaintiff’s injuries, they’ll likely win the case – no matter how egregious their fault or how serious a plaintiff’s injuries. To prove causation, we have to show that but for the defendant’s actions, the harm would not have occurred.

Definition of Proximate Cause

So what is proximate cause?

Fort Myers personal injury lawyers use this term to assert that the defendant is legally responsible for our client’s injuries because their actions were either a substantial factor causing the harm AND/OR, the harm caused was a natural and foreseeable consequence of the defendant’s actions.

That doesn’t mean the defendant’s actions were the sole cause. Sometimes injuries have multiple causes. But the proximate cause is the one that we aim to prove when we’re pursuing a case for legal (financial) responsibility for the resulting harm. Continue reading