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Torts • Negligence
TORT#047
Legal Definition
An act or omission is the actual cause of an injury where the injury would not have occurred but for the act.
Plain English Explanation
After harm is caused to a plaintiff, take a step back and look at the series of events that resulted in that harm. Like a series of dominoes, you should be able to trace back from the harm all the way to the point where the defendant did something that set things into motion. The "but for" test has you pretend that the defendant did not exist, then has you describe how the harm would have not occurred without ("but for") the defendant's actions.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Sam and Bob work at a lumber mill cutting logs on a large table saw. One day, Bob removes the safety guard the protects the operator's fingers from reaching the spinning blade. Sam, while using the saw, cuts off his fingers. Result: If Bob didn't remove the safety guard, then Sam's fingers would have been protected from the blade and would not have been cut off. Thus, but for Bob removing the safety guard, Sam would still have his fingers.
Hypo 2: Sam and Bob work at a lumber mill cutting logs on a large table saw. One day, Bob removes the safety guard the protects the operator's fingers from reaching the spinning blade. Sam, while using the saw, accidentally drops a piece of wood on his foot breaking his toe. Result: The safety guard protected the operator's fingers. It was unsafe and unwise for Bob to remove it, but it has nothing to do with Sam dropping a piece of wood and breaking his toe. But for Bob removing the safety guard, Sam would still have dropped the wood on his foot.
Hypo 2: Sam and Bob work at a lumber mill cutting logs on a large table saw. One day, Bob removes the safety guard the protects the operator's fingers from reaching the spinning blade. Sam, while using the saw, accidentally drops a piece of wood on his foot breaking his toe. Result: The safety guard protected the operator's fingers. It was unsafe and unwise for Bob to remove it, but it has nothing to do with Sam dropping a piece of wood and breaking his toe. But for Bob removing the safety guard, Sam would still have dropped the wood on his foot.
Visual Aids
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