"Causation" as Sung at Rutgers Law

More Legal Causation Explained

Perhaps the fact that you have cable TV was an actual cause of your father getting punched in the stomach over a can of soup.  But was it a PROXIMATE cause - a legal cause? Was it reasonably foreseeable that having cable could result in such an injury? Was your father's injury a "natural and probable result" of your TV service choices?

Let's watch and discuss:

Proximate Cause: Tragic Events Underlie Causation Issue.

Thanks to my colleague Robert Bird for sharing this news story.

The Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star reports that a Nebraska man has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against WalMart and the maker of the plastic bags into which WalMart associates bag groceries.  Apparently, the man's wife purchased two 42 ounce cans of a Lachoy product and a 2 lb. bag of rice.  The WalMart cashier allegedly put all items into one bag without double-bagging.  In the way to the car, the bag broke, one of the cans fell out breaking the victims toe and causing a gash.  Eventually the gash became infected and subsequently resulted in the victim's death nearly a year later.

Assuming the cashier's failure to double-bag the groceries is a breach of the duty of care, and assuming that the plaintiff was not more than 50% negligent for not double bagging it on her own or using a grocery cart to move the groceries to her car, was the injury a natural and probable and foreseeable result of the breach of duty? Is there a sufficient legal nexus or proximity between the duty breach and the death? It sounds like a law school exam question.

See other posts on causation here and here.

Law Music Video: Prof. Steven Friedell

Who would ever have thought that singing songs in classes with adults could be an effective pedagogical method? What else can be said about watching an exceptional teacher at work? Here is Prof. Steven Friedell, Rutgers Law.

Guest Blogger - Henry Lowenstein: Proximate Cause or Cable Remote?

Henry Lowenstein from Coastal Carolina University shares the following video resource:

A colleague of mine (Professor Mark Mitchell, Marketing) passed on some of the new TV ads being run by DirectTV to encourage consumers to switch from cable TV to their direct service.  They are hilarious.  The one below had me thinking on the issue of "proximate cause" when we teach about torts in our legal environment classrooms.  Who really is responsible for injury?  Who really should pay?  What are the limits of the logic?  Is the cell phone company responsible for the distracted driving that leads to an accident or is it the maker of the device itself, or the road, or the car company who didn't warn not to look at the GPS screen while driving?  The road to netting potential tortfeasors could be endless and only the courts, juries and legislators put some limitations on it.  Common sense and personal responsibility often get lost in the legal "static." 

The big complaint about the U.S. legal system and raised in debates on tort reform is the expansion of tort theories, by plaintiff attorneys seeking new ways of making cases and cashing-in for "victims" and themselves.  So the DirectTV might be a funny way to approach the topic.   Is the cable tv company the proximate cause of this individual's "assault."  Does he have a cause of action against his cable company for various forms of tort liability and compensation?

Editor's Comment: Maybe this guy could sue Direct TV for not speedily convincing him to switch from cable?

Guest Blogger: Donna Steslow - Causation Explained by a Rube Goldberg Music Video

Donna Steslow at Kutztown University submitted the following:

I am always trying to explain the concept of a Rube Goldberg type machine when discussing the Palsgraf case and proximate cause, but students have no idea what that is. I think this music video is great; it could illustrate the difference between causation in fact, proximate cause and foreseeability. Is the last step (getting doused with paint) foreseeable?