Proximate Cause Flashcards
What is the term Proximate Cause?
An event sufficiently related to an injury that the courts deem the event to be the cause of the injury.
What is the classic definition in the English case of Pawsey v. Scottish Union & National Insurance Co. (1907)?
“The active efficient cause that sets in motion a chain of events which brings about a result, without the intervention of any force started and working actively from a new independent source”.
The loss can be caused by:
- Insured peril
- Uninsured peril
- Excluded peril
What is the Operation of a Single cause?
Known as the “Proximate cause” or “Remote cause”.
How does a single cause apply in Insured Peril?
Insured Peril example:
The electrical shortage caused a fire that damaged a building will be covered by a fire policy. However, water damage was caused when putting out the fire.
Since fire is an insured peril, it, therefore, makes the insurer liable for both the fire and water damage within the vicinity.
How does a single cause apply in Uninsured Peril?
Uninsured Peril example:
An explosion of gas used for commercial use damaged a motor repair shop causing a fire to break out. Fire insurance will not cover such loss unless the peril was specifically.
If the explosion was followed by a fire break out by an electrical short circuit, then the claim will be covered by the insurer.
How does a single cause apply in Excluded Peril?
Excluded Peril example:
A person who is recently injured by a car accident but was discovered that they have a disease which caused their death.
This will not be covered under personal accident policy as the proximate cause of death is the disease and not the car accident.
What are Concurrent Causes?
It is two or more perils that operate concurrently to bring about a loss.
Example:
A building damaged by fire and a storm were battering it at the same time.
What are Successive Causes?
When a number of causes operate one after the other and the original cause happens to be an insured peril, there is apparent liability under the policy.
