Proximate cause

An actual cause that is also legally sufficient to support liability.  Although many actual causes can exist for an injury (e.g., a pregnancy that led to the defendant's birth), the law does not attach liability to all the actors responsible for those causes.  The likelihood of calling something a proximate cause increases as the cause becomes more direct and more necessary for the injury to occur.

Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary

Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.

August 19, 2010, 5:22 pm