In negligence, which term refers to the actual cause of the plaintiff's injury?

In negligence, which term refers to the actual cause of the plaintiff's injury?

• A. Proximate cause
• B. Collateral cause
• C. Actual cause (but-for)
• D. Legal cause

Answer: (C)

In negligence, the key idea is distinguishing factual causation from legal causation. The actual, factual cause of the plaintiff’s injury is determined by the but-for test: would the injury have occurred if not for the defendant’s negligent act? If the injury would not have happened but for that conduct, then there is an actual cause. Proximate cause (the legal cause) deals with foreseeability and policy limits on liability, not the factual link. The term that describes the actual cause is actual cause (but-for). For example, if a driver runs a red light and you’re injured in the crash, the injury would not have occurred but for the driver’s negligence, so there is an actual cause.

In negligence, the key idea is distinguishing factual causation from legal causation. The actual, factual cause of the plaintiff’s injury is determined by the but-for test: would the injury have occurred if not for the defendant’s negligent act? If the injury would not have happened but for that conduct, then there is an actual cause. Proximate cause (the legal cause) deals with foreseeability and policy limits on liability, not the factual link. The term that describes the actual cause is actual cause (but-for). For example, if a driver runs a red light and you’re injured in the crash, the injury would not have occurred but for the driver’s negligence, so there is an actual cause.