Torts
Proximate Cause
Definition
Proximate cause (or legal cause) limits liability to harms that bear a sufficiently close relationship to the defendant's negligent conduct. Even when the defendant's act is the actual cause of harm, liability may be cut off if the harm was too remote, unforeseeable, or attenuated. The Cardozo view focuses on foreseeability of the plaintiff, while the Andrews view focuses on whether the harm was a natural and continuous sequence from the defendant's act.
Example
A negligently dropped package explodes, injuring a bystander at the other end of the platform. The question of proximate cause is whether the bystander's injury was foreseeable.