Proving fault in a personal injury case involves more than showing that someone acted carelessly. To recover compensation, the victim must also demonstrate that the acts of the at-fault driver directly caused their injuries. This legal connection between the action and the resulting injury is considered proximate cause, and it plays a central role in almost every personal injury claim.

Understanding what proximate cause means, and how insurance companies and courts evaluate it, can make the difference between a successful claim and a denied one. In this blog, I will be explaining what proximate cause means in simple terms, how it can be proven in a personal injury claim, and why it can be so important to the value of your case.

Understanding Proximate Cause

In legal terms, proximate cause focuses on whether an injury was a reasonably foreseeable result of someone’s actions. In simple terms, the law asks whether a person should have anticipated that their behavior could lead to the type of harm that occurred. If the injury was a natural outcome of the action, proximate cause is present.

However, proximate cause does not exist when the injury results from an unusual or unpredictable chain of events. Even if someone acted negligently, they cannot be held legally responsible for consequences that a reasonable person would not have foreseen as a potential consequence for their action. For this reason, proximate cause can only be proven when the injuries fall within the range of harms that could normally be expected based on the actions involved.

How Proximate Cause is Proven in a Personal Injury Claim

In a personal injury case, proving proximate cause means showing the defendant’s actions led directly to the injuries suffered. This involves connecting the accident itself, whether it was a car crash, slip and fall, etc., to the physical harm that followed. The injured person must show that the injuries did not happen by chance, but instead resulted from the circumstances created by the defendants actions.

This connection is usually established through evidence. Medical records and doctor opinions are used to explain what injuries were sustained as a result of the accident, while police reports, photographs, video footage, and witness statements help explain how the accident occurred. Together, this evidence must prove that the injury suffered was a reasonably foreseeable outcome of the defendant’s actions in order to recover any compensation.

Proximate cause is one of the most common arguments made by insurance companies, arguing that someone/something else caused the injury. They often argue that there was a pre-existing condition/injury or a separate event that occurred after the accident that caused the injuries being claimed. When this happens, it becomes critical to show that the accident either caused the injury outright or made an existing condition significantly worse. When the evidence clearly links the accident to the harm, and shows the injury was a foreseeable result of the defendant’s behavior, proximate cause can be established and the claim becomes much stronger.

Common Examples of Proximate Cause

Proximate cause often becomes clearer when applied to real-world personal injury situations. One common example is a car accident caused by a driver that ran a red light. When that driver collides with another vehicle, the resulting injuries are considered reasonably foreseeable outcomes of ignoring a traffic signal. In this scenario, the negligent driving behavior is directly connected to the injuries, satisfying proximate cause.

By contrast, proximate cause does not exist when the injury results from an unexpected event that a reasonable person would not have anticipated. For example, if a driver causes a minor fender bender and, hours later, the victim is struck by lightning while waiting for a tow truck, the at-fault driver would not be legally responsible for the lightning-related injuries. Although the accident placed the victim at that location, the harm itself was not a foreseeable result of the driver’s negligence, eliminating proximate cause.

Situations like this help illustrate why proximate cause is required, and ensures that defendants are only held responsible for injuries that naturally flow from their actions, not for remote or unrelated outcomes.

Why Proximate Cause Can Make or Break Your Personal Injury Case

Proximate cause is the foundation of every personal injury case. No matter how serious the injuries are or how careless the other party may have been, compensation is not available unless the injuries can be legally traced back to the defendant’s actions. In practical terms, proximate cause is what allows the law to connect wrongdoing to financial responsibility. Without it, there is no valid claim.

This is why insurance companies focus so heavily on proximate cause. If they can successfully argue that the injuries were not a foreseeable result of the accident, the claim can be denied outright. On the other hand, when proximate cause is clearly established, it forms a strong legal bridge between the accident and harm suffered, making compensation not only possible, but justified. For injury victims, proving proximate cause is often the deciding factor in whether they recover damages from their accident. This is one of the many reasons why hiring an experienced personal injury attorney is so important, as they understand how to establish proximate cause, overcome insurance company arguments, and protect the full value of your case.

Get David Get Paid

Understanding proximate cause can be complicated, but it’s a crucial part of building a strong injury case. The experienced team of injury lawyers at Femminineo Law knows how to connect the dots between the incident and the harm you’ve suffered, ensuring that no detail is overlooked. With over 100 years of combined experience in injury law, we can guarantee that we will do everything in our power to get you the maximum amount of compensation in the least amount of time possible.

If you or anyone you know is injured due to someone else’s negligence, call the experienced team of lawyers at Femminineo Law at 855-65-CRASH or visit our website, getdavidgetpaid.com, today!