---
title: "Actual Cause (Cause-in-Fact)"
type: Legal Term
source: https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/actual-cause
---

# Actual Cause (Cause-in-Fact)

Actual cause, or cause-in-fact, establishes the factual link between the defendant's conduct and the plaintiff's injury. The standard test is the but-for test: but for the defendant's negligence, would the harm have occurred? When multiple actors contribute to an indivisible injury and the but-for test fails, courts may apply the substantial factor test. The burden of proof is on the plaintiff to establish actual causation by a preponderance of the evidence.

## Related Terms

- but-for-test
- proximate-cause
- negligence

## Related Cases

- summers-v-tice
- sindell-v-abbott-laboratories
- stubbs-v-city-of-rochester

## Example

Two hunters negligently fire simultaneously, and one pellet hits the plaintiff. Because neither can prove who fired the injuring shot, the court may shift the burden under alternative liability.

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Source: [Actual Cause (Cause-in-Fact) — CaseBriefly](https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/actual-cause)