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cau·sa·tion /kȯ-'zā-shən/ n1 a: the act or process of causingproof of objective causation of injury by the perpetrator — Alan Freemanb: the act or agency that produces an effectevidence was presented on doctor's malpractice...for...proof of causation — National Law Journalif plaintiffs could establish...that the caps were manufactured by one of the defendants, the burden of proof as to causation would shift to all the defendants — Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories, 607 P.2d 924 (1980)2: the relation between cause and effect esp. as an element to be proven in a tort or criminal casemust be “legal” causation between the acts and the results — W. R. LaFave and A. W. Scott, Jr. see also chain of causation
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
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index
building (business of assembling), cause (reason), creation, derivation, incentive, instigation, motive, origination, provocation, reason (basis)
Burton's Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006
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n.Causing something; a cause; the connection between cause and effect.
The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.
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a philosophical notion deeply rooted in Western (but not necessarily Eastern) philosophy that has become absorbed into the legal system, by which two events are said to be connected, the one later in time having been brought about by the earlier. Clearly, this has implications for the ascription of liability or responsibility. In crime and in tort and delict, many cases become issues of causation, especially where there is competition between causative factors. The concept of intervening cause is often encapsulated in the phrase nova causa interveniens ('new intervening cause'). Thus, the person charged with murder may try to show that the simple punch landed on the victim was not the cause of the death but the incompetence of the medical team who treated the victim for his bruise. The general attitude of the courts is to treat the first cause as subsisting and to ignore the intervention unless it very clearly breaks a chain of causation. Quantum physics, synchronicity and chaos theory, if valid and if appreciated by lawyers, might one day render causation less important. In any event, actual decisions show that the courts refuse to take a scientific view of the concept and apply the common's man view of causes. See R v . Blaue [1975] 1 WLR 1411; Finlayson v . HMA 1979 JC 33; McGhee v. NCB 1973 SC (HL) 37.
Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001.
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A principle used in the assessment of damages for breach of contract or tort. Losses may have been foreseeable at the time of contracting or at the time of the breach of duty in the case of tort, but they will only be recoverable if those losses were caused by the breach of contract or duty. The claimant must prove on a balance of probabilities that the breach caused the loss. It is not sufficient for the breach merely to provide the opportunity or occasion for the claimant to injure himself. The so-called "but for" test is used as a preliminary filter. If the loss would have happened in any event, then the breach could not be said to have caused the loss.Related links
Practical Law Dictionary. Glossary of UK, US and international legal terms. www.practicallaw.com. 2010.
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n. The act of causing or producing an effect or a result.See also chain of causation, causality, cause.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
