Causation

Causation is the legal and factual connection between an action and a resulting harm. It determines whether the harm can be attributed to the action.

Cause in Fact: A factual test asking whether harm would have occurred without a particular action. It tests whether the defendant’s conduct made a difference to the harm.
Multiple Causation: A situation in which two or more factors contribute to the same harm. It complicates attribution when no single act explains the outcome.
Correlation and Causation: The distinction between variables occurring together and one variable producing a change in another. Evidence of association alone does not establish that conduct caused legal harm.
Negligence: A tort involving failure to exercise the care required by law, causing harm. Causation is one of the elements a negligence claim must establish.
Proximate Cause: A legal limit on liability for consequences sufficiently connected to a defendant’s conduct. It limits liability even when factual causation is established.
Concurrent Causes: Two or more causes that operate together to produce a result. Concurrent acts can each contribute to one indivisible injury.
Foreseeability: The reasonable anticipation of a possible consequence or risk. A consequence may be foreseeable without being factually caused by the defendant.
Product Liability: Legal responsibility for harm caused by defective products. A claimant must connect a product defect to the injury.
But-for Test: A test that asks whether an event would have occurred but for a specified act or omission. It is the standard way to assess factual causation in many cases.
Alternative Liability: A doctrine that may shift the burden of identifying the responsible defendant when several actors caused a risk. It addresses uncertainty about which of multiple negligent actors caused the harm.

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