A paralegal is assisting an attorney with a civil case where the defendant is claiming that the plaintiff's injuries were not caused by the defendant's actions, but rather by an entirely separate, unforeseeable event that occurred after the defendant's alleged wrongdoing. The attorney explains that this defense is known as a 'superseding cause.' Which of the following best describes the effect of a superseding cause on a defendant's liability?
- AIt shifts liability for the entire injury from the defendant to the plaintiff.
- BIt breaks the chain of causation between the defendant's act and the plaintiff's injury, relieving the defendant of liability.
- CIt increases the defendant's liability due to the complexity of the causation analysis.
- DIt requires the defendant to prove that the superseding event was intentional.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. It breaks the chain of causation between the defendant's act and the plaintiff's injury, relieving the defendant of liability.
A superseding cause is an intervening event that is unforeseeable and breaks the causal connection between the defendant's original negligent act and the plaintiff's injury. If a superseding cause is found, it typically relieves the original defendant of liability for the injuries that followed the superseding event, as their actions are no longer considered the proximate cause.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. It allocates liability away from the defendant, not necessarily to the plaintiff, but to the superseding event.
- C. A superseding cause typically reduces or eliminates, not increases, liability.
- D. The intent of the superseding event is not a requirement; it must simply be unforeseeable and break the causal chain.
Superseding Cause
An unforeseeable intervening act or event that breaks the causal connection between a defendant's original negligent act and a plaintiff's injury, thereby relieving the defendant of liability.
- Must be unforeseeable
- Occurs after the defendant's act
- Breaks the chain of proximate causation
- Relieves original defendant of liability
Memory trick: Superseding Cause: It's the 'surprise detour' that makes the first driver not responsible for the final crash.