Causation Flashcards
What happened in the case of Pagett?
A defendant took a woman hostage and she died as a result. But for D’s actions V wouldn’t have died.
What happened in the case of white?
Defendant poisoned his mother’s tea, but she died of an unrelated heart attack. Not guilty of murder, but attempted murder. “But for” the son she still would have died
What was the rule of Kimsey?
More than slight or trifling cause of the consequence/ more than a minimal cause
What happened in the case of Dalloway?
A prisoner caused the death of a child by hitting it with his hay cart. He was not holding the reins. He was acquitted because even if he was holding the reins , he couldn’t stop quickly enough to save the child.
What happened in the cafe of Blaue?
A woman was stabbed 4 times by her attacker and needed a blood transfusion. She refused it on religious grounds, and Blaue was guilty of manslaughter. Thin skull rule
What happened in the case of Hayward?
The defendant chased his wife into the street. She died of an undiagnosed medical condition. Chain of causation not broken, he caused her death via the thin skull rule.
What was the rule decided in the case of Stephenson?
If the victim does something so daft and unexpected that no reasonable person could foresee it, then it would break the chain of causation.
What happened in the case of Roberts?
A woman jumped from a moving car to escape indecent assault. It was foreseeable that V would do this so D did cause her injuries.
What happened in the case of smith?
Victim was stabbed with a bayonet. On the way to a medical centre he was dropped and reached the centre 2 hours after the stabbing. He received poor medical treatment and died. Original attacker was still guilty of murder as the medical mistreatment was not enough to break the chain of causation
What happened in the case of Cheshire?
Man was shot in a fish and chip shot and was rushed to hospital. He had a breathing tube installed incorrectly and died. Cheshire was still guilty of murder.
What happened in the Jordan (rogue case)?
A man was stabbed in a cafe. After recovering in hospital for 8 days he was injected with the wrong medication and died. The chain of causation was broken here and the defendant did not cause the death because the stab wound was no longer the operative cause of death
What was decided in the case of Malcherek and Steel?
Switching off life support does not break the chain of causation
