Proximate cause is the initial act which sets off a natural and continuous sequence of events, leading to an injury. Without this initial act which led to an injury, no injury would have resulted. A Chicago personal injury attorney describes it as “Anytime you act, you start a series of natural and continuous events to occur.” For example, when you swing your arm with a ball, you release it and it may then roll down a hill.
Responsibility for injury does not always lie in the initial act. The last negligent act that produces the injury leads to fault. If an individual picks up the ball that rolled down the hill and throws it into a window, breaking the glass and then injuring someone else, that individual is responsible for the injury, and this act becomes the proximate cause of the injury. If you threw the ball initially, you should not be held responsible for any injuries from the glass being broken, explains an Illinois personal injury lawyer.
An intervening cause occurs when one act, or a failure to act alters the natural and continuous series of events that follows. According to a Chicago personal injury attorney, when an intervening cause is present, the natural chain of events changes and the initial individual of proximate cause may be relieved of the responsibility for an injury that is produced. In the previous example, the stranger picking up the ball and then throwing it through a window is an intervening cause. The intervening cause then releases you from responsibility for injury.
If you are suffering from a personal injury, Illinois personal injury lawyers are dedicated to protecting your rights and seeking out proper compensation.