21.5 Causation.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

21.5 Causation. If a legal duty exists, and a breach of that duty occurs, negligence cannot exist unless such breach is the cause of the claimant’s damages. Causation is comprised of two distinct legal concepts. First, a party is required to prove cause-in-fact. In other words, a party must prove that the injury claimed would not have occurred “but for” the negligent act¹⁵⁸ or in the alternative, that the negligent act was a “substantial factor” in the resulting injury. Second, it must be determined by the court¹⁵⁹ that the “scope of liability”¹⁶⁰ extends to the range of risks or harms suffered.¹⁶¹ In exact terminology, indiscriminate mixing of legal concepts of proximate cause and lack of standardization of language has resulted in imprecise analysis and pervasive confusion in the analysis of causation.¹⁶² This chapter identifies concepts of causation as cause-in-fact¹⁶³ and scope of liability/proximate cause.¹⁶⁴ “Scope of Liability” is the umbrella phrase intended to include concepts of legal cause, legal policy, proximate cause and risk of harm.

--------

Notes:

^[158] Inspiration...