Proximate cause means the active, efficient cause that sets in motion a chain of events which brings about a result, without the intervention of any force started and working actively from a new and independent source. 36 No. 19 It focuses on the specificity and specific functions of proximate cause on insurance law. Insurance policies are long, convoluted, and abstruse documents. Three unruly doctrines—proximate cause, concurrent cause, and efficient proximate cause—cause an inordinate amount of litigation. Proximate Cause and Causation. People often purchase liability insurance in case they are responsible for being the proximate cause of an injury or a loss. Proximate cause is very relevant in liability cases. proximate cause is covered depends upon the application of the terms of the policy to the fact pattern, a legal question for a court to decide. Home > Insurance > That sinking feeling – proximate cause and insurance. Recently, a small restaurant was vandalized. It may not be the first event that set in motion a sequence of events that led to an injury, and it may not be the very last event before the injury occurs. 8 Id. The actions of the SUV driver are the actual cause of the accident. •I. Proximate cause relates to the relationship between an event and an injury. When losses do … Proximate Cause and "Cause-In-Fact" First, it's important to note that a traffic accident may have both a proximate cause and a "cause-in-fact" component, and these are not always one and the same. For example, many people buy auto insurance in case they accidentally cause an accident on the road while they are driving. Insurance: The Proximate Cause in English Imw 287 House of Lords, like the courts below, held that the proximate cause was the torpedo and, therefore, that the action on the policy failed. Proximate cause is the “legal cause,” or what the law recognizes as a primary cause of the injury. Its proximate cause is a thing to be convinced about. That sinking feeling – proximate cause and insurance By Donald Dinnie on January 20, 2020 Posted in Insurance. This means understanding if the injury would occur but for the action or lapse of the defendant. 7 Sebo v. American Home Assurance Company, Inc. 208 So. No insurance claim can succeed unless the loss is proximately caused by a peril insured against. This can be a little confusing, so an example might help. Posted in Insurance. The proximate cause of his death is cholera and not falling from the ladder, or for that matter scratches on his leg, even though it can be wrongly argued that has he not had scratches on his leg he would not have gone to hospital and contacted cholera as such. at 700. Proximate cause. The proximate cause is not necessarily the first cause, nor the last cause; it is the dominant, efficient or operative cause. It is for this reason that the insurance idea of proximate cause becomes so important. The proximate cause is essentially that initial event that triggered the claim and need not be the event that immediately preceded the loss. Proximate cause can be direct, dominant, effective, immediate cause. The direct cause of loss; exists if there is no unbroken chain of events leading from one act to a r In this case scratches may be a remote cause. Beyond this contract, there are a number of accepted principles and practices that determine how the insurer should respond to the insured and vice versa. Let us take another example. The type and amount of insurance one obtains for protection of property and person will substantially affect one's ability to compen- sate adequately for unexpected loss. In Washington, a judicial doctrine called the “efficient proximate cause” rule may apply and affect insurance coverage when multiple events combine to cause a loss. The Rules For Application Of Proximate Cause In Insurance are as follows: Single Cause: When a single cause gives rise to a claim, the issue is simple. 3d 694 (Fla 2016) at 698. “A proximate cause is not the first, or the last or the sole cause of the loss: it is the dominant or effective or operative cause”. Proximate cause is not confined to insurance law but is important to most branches of law and. Determining Proximate Cause Through Different Rules. Failure by the insurer as to its tasks means that the insurer has not carried its burden, and therefore the insured is entitled to coverage under the policy. Now, consider that same example, but this time, let’s say the SUV driver is drunk. 6 Michael C. Phillips and Lisa L. Coplen, Concurrent Causation Versus Efficient Proximate Cause in First Party Insurance Coverage Analysis, The Brief – Tort & Trial Insurance Practice Section, Winter 2007 Vol. The proximate cause, whether an event covered by a policy (“peril”) or an event excluded from a policy (“exception”), “is the dominant or effective or operative cause.” So says MacGillivray and Parkington.1 So say the courts. Proximate cause is used in civil and criminal cases, and are frequent in personal injury legal cases. We would be well served by getting rid of these terms and other jargon as a prologue to the development of a set of simple and cogent doctrines. CONCURRENT PROXIMATE CAUSES IN INSURANCE DISPUTES: AFTER GARVEY, WHAT WILL POLICYHOLDERS EXPECT? After initially appearing to be covered the claim was later denied. The important point to consider here is that proximate cause is the only nearest cause and not the remote cause. Insurance Glossary Defines: Proximate Cause — (1) The cause having the most significant impact in bringing about the loss under a first-party property insurance policy, when two or more independent perils operate at the same time (i.e., concurrently) to produce a loss. Home Insurance Efficient Proximate Cause: There May Be Coverage For An Excluded Cause of Loss Efficient Proximate Cause: There May Be Coverage For An Excluded Cause of Loss . Insurance is a contract between the insurer and the insured; as such it is subject to numerous terms and conditions as contained in the policy wording. But besides the common law doctrine of proximate cause policy wordings generally also convey the idea of causation. For example, imagine an SUV sideswipes a car and injures the driver. It is hard to disagree. Proximate Cause - The Wayne Tank Principle and The Three Little Pigs You may have recently seen in the papers that building in Lidcombe where the roof blew off in January and the owners found themselves in the situation with a strata policy which covers storm damage but excludes poor design and construction. 20 That there is no stipulation in Chinese law leads to the difference judgment in litigation. A man scratches his leg falling from a ladder. n. a happening which results in an event, particularly injury due to negligence or an intentional wrongful act. Everyone agrees that an iceberg was the proximate cause. What is Proximate cause? In this blog, we… Read More »The Meaning of Proximate Cause This may not be a “principle” of marine insurance but section 55 (1) of the U.K. Marine Insurance Act 1906 elevates it to a condition which must be fulfilled before the underwriter becomes Proximate cause, or the Latin Causa Proxima, relates to the cause of the loss in that the event of the peril insured against must be covered under the insurance contract (policy), and the dominant cause of the event must not be excluded. It is also hard to understand what it means and hence hard to apply it. It is an action that produced foreseeable consequences without intervention from anyone else. 2, page 3. The difficulty arises when there are two or more possible causes. The survey of some law cases is helpful in demonstrating the court approach in determining the proximate cause. INTRODUCTION Insurance serves an increasingly important function in society. The doctrine is considered “friendly” to insureds because it sometimes creates coverage for a loss caused in part by an excluded peril, where that excluded cause of loss was itself set in motion by a covered cause of loss. Proximate Cause is an important principle of insurance, which helps in deciding how the loss or damage happen and whether it is the result of an insured peril or not. Proximate cause means “legal cause” or one that the law recognizes as the primary cause of the injury. It mainly revolves around the claim administration and, more precisely, diagnosing the role of the peril in a claim. proximate cause. In practice it is very important to study the policy wording to assess its impact on the concept of proximate cause. Principles of Insurance : Proximate Cause The efficient cause which brings about a loss with no other intervening cause which breaks the chain of events. Proximate Cause Active, direct, and efficient cause of loss in insurance that sets in motion an unbroken chain of events which bring about damage, destruction, or injury without the intervention of a new and independent force. If the cause is an insured one, the claim is payable, if the cause is uninsured or excepted the claim is not payable. C.L.J. Certain states take into consideration the “but for” rule for proximate cause. California Courts have interpreted California Insurance Code sections 530 and 532 to codify the efficient proximate cause doctrine. By Larry Bache on February 28, 2013. 21 The public prosecutor must prove the defendant's act was the proximate cause of the injury. The proximate cause was the behavior of George Costanza, as played by Jason Alexander. A proximate cause was the rise in subprime lending. 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