Proximate cause is a necessary element in proving liability in any Kentucky personal injury case involving negligence. Without a showing of proximate cause, an entire personal injury case will fail. The legal notion of proximate cause involves an act or failure to act that is reasonably foreseeable to cause injury to somebody else.
To determine proximate cause, ask the following question: But for the act or failure to act of the defendant, would the injury have resulted from the accident? If that act or failure to act was the actual cause of the claimant’s injury, proximate cause exists. If the injury wasn’t reasonably foreseeable, there was no proximate cause.
Here’s How Foreseeability Works
An example of foreseeability follows. A restaurant owner is aware of the fact that there’s a leaky pipe in a restroom. He fails to repair it or warn customers of a wet floor. A customer then enters the restroom. Thereafter, he slips on the wet floor, falls backward and fractures the back of his or her skull.
Although it’s a question for the jury, it’s perfectly foreseeable that a customer will slip and fall on a wet floor. It’s also perfectly foreseeable that he or she will fall backward from the slip and hit the back of their head on the floor from falling.
A Mere Possibility Isn’t Enough
Proximate cause isn’t the reason why an accident occurred. It’s the reason why an injury occurred that resulted from an accident. If you’ve been the victim of an accident anywhere in Kentucky, you’ll need to prove that the injuries you complain of were directly and proximately caused by the negligence of the defendant.
That’s not an easy task.
We examine every risk of harm on a case-by-case basis. Anything is possible, so a mere possibility of the type of harm that the claimant suffered just isn’t enough.
Contact a Kentucky Attorney for More Information on Proximate Cause
Contact our offices as soon as you can after being injured in any accident that was caused by the carelessness and negligence of somebody else. We offer free consultations and case evaluations with knowledgeable and experienced Kentucky personal injury lawyers from our offices. You can tell us about what happened and how it has affected you, and we can answer your questions too. After that, we can advise you on all of your legal rights and options.
