Therefore, a First Cause exists (and this is God). Privacy Laws: Why It Matters, What To Do, & Important FAQs, Deportation: Human Rights, FAQ, & What To Do, Flexible Spending Account (FSA): Limits, Expenses & FAQ, Census 2020: Everything You Need To Know Before You Say No, Best Way to Find Someone in Jail for Free. In tort law, an intervening cause is an event that occurs after a tortfeasor's initial act of negligence and causes injury/harm to a victim. ... — called also efficient intervening cause, intervening cause — compare concurrent cause and intervening cause in this entry - English Only forum booster is the most efficient air booster to use - meaning? Efficient cause definition, See under cause (def. Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state or object (a cause) contributes to the production of another event, process, state or object (an effect) where the cause is partly responsible for the effect, and the effect is partly dependent on the cause. An event that occurs after a party's improper or dangerous action and before the damage that could otherwise have been caused by the dangerous act, thereby breaking the chain of causation between the original act and the harm to the injured person. Noun . All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. The efficient proximate cause is not necessarily the last act in a chain of events. Loehr, Cynthia. To explore this concept, consider the following superseding cause definition. These jurisdictions simply ask whether the intervening cause is sufficient to relieve a defendant of liability. The Law Dictionary Featuring Black's Law Dictionary Free Online Legal Dictionary 2nd Ed. Two types of intervening causes are considered: dependent and independent. Petty testified that he had never fainted before and that he was feeling fine up to the point of the sudden illness. We are losing too much revenue; we need a more efficient means of production. Other jurisdictions do not use the term superseding cause. https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Intervening+Cause, Consequently, his actions constituted a separate and unusual action rendering it a superseding and, Instruction 403. Not all intervening causes relieve a defendant of liability. I just had new energy-efficient windows put in the house. The definition of efficient is being productive with minimal effort. However, the defendant may escape liability by showing that a subsequent act or event, or intervening cause, was the real cause of the injury. It is, however, a subordinate role and yields pride of place to a different idea—namely, form considered as… INTERVENING CAUSEAn action or event that occurs, after an original act or event occurs that sets… IMPOSSIBLE CONTRACTSAn impossible contract is one which the law will not hold binding upon the parties,… INTERVENING DAMAGESSuch damages to an appellee as … Suing Your Landlord: How, When, Why, & Should You Bother? An intervening cause relieves a defendant of liability only if it would not have been foreseeable to a reasonable person, and only if damage resulting from the defendant's own actions would not have been foreseeable to a reasonable person. Negligent human conduct is conduct that exposes a person to abnormal risks. Definition of Proximate Cause. A superseding cause is an unforeseeable intervening cause. Intervening Cause. Proximate cause is defined as that cause, which, in natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any efficient intervening cause, produces the injury, and without which the result would not have occurred. efficient cause TheLaw.com Law Dictionary & Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed. The law of causation is a prime example of the information few people know about and even fewer use when purchasing insurance. Other articles where Efficient cause is discussed: metaphysics: Aristotelianism: The notion of an efficient cause has a role in Aristotelianism. Liability for negligently disabling or failing to repair a traffic signal: absolute immunity in the Third District? The result is that the person who started the chain of events is no longer responsible and will not be found liable for damages to the injured person. ing cause : an unforeseeable intervening cause that interrupts the chain of causation and becomes the proximate cause of the effect called also efficient intervening cause intervening cause compare concurrent cause and intervening cause in this entry Intervening cause is a defense that is raised by a defendant seeking relief from liability based upon the interruption of a link between the defendant's wrongful act claimed and the harm suffered by the plaintiff. An event that occurs after a party's improper or dangerous action and before the damage that could otherwise have been caused by the dangerous act, thereby breaking the chain of causation between the original act and the harm to the injured person. The Law DictionaryFeaturing Black's Law Dictionary Free Online Legal Dictionary 2nd Ed. All jurisdictions differentiate between an intervening cause that relieves a defendant of liability and one that does not: the only difference is in the terminology. However, if the farmer lives in Kansas, where tornadoes may be expected, and stored the sculpture outside without tethers during tornado season, the judge or jury may find that she should have anticipated the tornado and its damaging effects, and thus is liable for the damage. It is not possible to regress to infinity in efficient causes. The law is comprised of doctrines that are incompatible, vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and lend themselves to “logic chopping.” Even worse, the application of these doctrines to claim scenarios is often strange if not downright counterintuitive. Instruction 403.10c (intervening cause) is to be given only in cases in which the court concludes that there is a jury issue as to the presence and effect of an intervening cause. Petty had had no reason to anticipate the illness, and because he had not been negligent in any way prior to the accident, the illness relieved him of all liability for Cohen's injuries. Sparks from the fire cause Petrol's truck to explode, sending the fire on the way to Rancher's barns and home, which burn down. A natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any efficient intervening cause, that produces injury and without which the result would not have occurred. The trial court agreed with Petty and entered judgment in his favor. — Also termed intervening act; intervening agency; intervening force; independent intervening cause; efficient intervening cause; supervening cause; novus actus … But it can be done, Interpretatio fienda est ut res magis valeat quam pereat, Interpretatio talis in ambiguis semper fienda, Interruptio multiplex non tollit praescriptionem semel obtentam. New Mexico Law Review 30 (spring): 325–49. AMI 503 Intervening Proximate Cause—Definition and Effect—Burden of Proof (Defendant) contends and has the burden of proving that following any act or omission on [his][her][its] part an event intervened that in itself caused damage completely independent of [his][her][its] conduct. In Aristotle: Causation …is often called the “efficient cause.” Aristotle gives as examples a person reaching a decision, a father begetting a child, a sculptor carving a statue, and a doctor healing a patient. A defendant is held liable for an injury or loss to another person if the defendant's negligent or reckless conduct was the proximate cause of the resulting injury or loss. Petrol's negligence is an intervening cause which gets Flameout off the liability hook. Compensatory vs. Punitive Damages: What’s the difference? "Intervening-Cause Defense: Is It Still Viable Under Comparative Fault?" - English Only forum be (the) very efficient bussinesswomen [article with plural?] While the efficient proximate cause is said to set into motion a chain of events, it is not necessarily the triggering cause, rather it is the predominating cause. This unusual reaction may be deemed an extraordinary intervening cause that relieves the defendant of liability. 2000. The sudden sickness and fainting spell were, Petty claimed, an intervening cause that relieved him of liability. 1590-1600 Latin proximatus (near, or approach) What is Proximate Cause. Origin of Proximate. If there be no first cause then there will be no others. A superseding cause, also known as an “intervening cause,” may be proven to have substantially caused the accident. This requirement is imposed to protect people from unreasonable or unrestricted invasions or intr… efficient cause definition in English dictionary, efficient cause meaning, synonyms, see also 'efficiently',efficiency',effect'. Enrich your vocabulary with the English Definition dictionary Natural forces include extraordinary weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the conduct of animals. Res Gestae 42 (July): 16. n. an event which occurs between the original improper or dangerous action and the damage itself. Thus, the "causal connection" between the wrong and damages is broken by the intervening cause. : an unforeseeable intervening cause that interrupts the chain of causation and becomes the proximate cause of the effect — called also efficient intervening cause, intervening cause — compare concurrent cause and intervening cause in this entry — and The Law Dictionary, About| Terms | Privacy | Legal Questions, Written and fact checked by The Law Dictionary. According to the appeals court, the sudden illness was an intervening cause. (Know the Four D's), Deceptive Medical Billing Practices and Your BI Investigation, Effectively playing the "blame game": the successful pursuit of comparative negligence, Remedies for wronged investors: recent federal laws and court decisions have diminished the rights of investors to recover for fraud and other wrongful conduct in securities transactions. A separate act or omission that breaks the direct connection between the defendant's actions and an injury or loss to another person, and may relieve the defendant of liability for the injury or loss. How Do You Look up License Plate Numbers? What does efficient mean? Some jurisdictions use two terms to define the intervening cause doctrine: intervening cause and superseding cause. Cause definition is - a reason for an action or condition : motive. War Drafts – What You Should Know About the Return of the Draft. This means that the defendant's conduct must have played a substantial part in bringing about or directly causing the injury or loss. A dependent intervening cause is set in motion by the defendant's own conduct, and will not relieve the defendant of liability unless it is extraordinary. Schlosser, William L. The court said, "Whenever a new cause intervenes which is not a consequence of the first wrongful cause… Fake News: History, Laws, & Is It Going To Ruin The Election… Again? An intervening cause can be the action of another person (who is generally called a "third party"), and it can also be an act of nature, such as … This a case where the defendant has done no wrong but injuries and damages have been the result of an action. Ombudsman clears Aquino of homicide raps over Mamasapano tragedy, Amendments to jury instructions in civil cases, Proposed changes and reorganization of jury instructions for civil cases for products liability, Malpractice and suicide: what the plaintiffs must prove to win. Noun . an efficient way of reaching goals - English Only forum an efficient, fair, and practical approach - English Only forum and equally efficient ones on the micro level of the battlefield." 8b). Intervening cause synonyms, Intervening cause pronunciation, Intervening cause translation, English dictionary definition of Intervening cause. on the defendant's car constituted an unforeseeable, intervening and .efficient cause of the resulting collision with the plaintiff's car so that the defendant was not liable for the injuries caused to the plaintiff. 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