Showing posts with label proximate cause. Show all posts
Showing posts with label proximate cause. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
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:
Monday, September 16, 2013
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.
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.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Legal Jargon
If you are looking for a video to illuminate the concept of proximate cause for your class, this isn't it. But it is a fine example of how lawyers can fall into the habit of speaking in legal jargon without even realizing it. It is a trap that we must all work to avoid in class. A couple of good videos for addressing proximate cause are the one suggested by Henry Lowenstein and posted here, and one suggested by Donno Steslow posted here.
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