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. This is a "but for" situation, in which the intervention
becomes the real reason harm resulted. 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. Example Fred Flameout negligently starts a wildfire by welding
on his hay bailer next to a row of haystacks, some hay catches fire, and the fire
spreads, heading toward the next-door ranch. However, just as the county fire department
has the fire nearly contained, Peter Petrol drives his oil truck through the fireline
against a fire fighter's orders and stops on the road between Flameout's property
and Richard Rancher's. 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. Petrol's negligence
is an intervening cause which gets Flameout off the liability hook. Sometimes this
is called supervening cause or superseding.
law dictionary, legal
dictionary, online law dictionary, legal terms dictionary,
online legal dictionary, legal definition, legal
terms and definition, Best online Dictionary, Law
Dictionary Software, Download Law Dictionary, law
dictionary, legal dictionary, online law dictionary,
legal terms dictionary, online legal dictionary,
legal definition, legal terms and definition, Best
online Dictionary, Law Dictionary Software, Download
Law Dictionary
