Strange, unexpected acts happen every day. Thus, even when\u00a0an individual or entity may have acted negligently, they are not always held responsible if an unusual or unexpected event occurs, thereby causing harm. In order to prove a negligence claim in this type of situation, a plaintiff must prove the elements of duty, breach, causation, and damages. Additionally,\u00a0in order to have a successful claim, a plaintiff must show that the defendant\u2019s negligent conduct caused the injuries at issue. Causation in a negligence claim requires a showing of both factual cause, or \u201cbut-for\u201d cause, and proximate cause, or \u201clegal\u201d cause. Generally, this requires that the plaintiff show that the resulting injuries were foreseeable, rather than merely a remote result\u00a0of the breach.<\/p>\n
However, if another act occurs that intervenes after\u00a0the defendant\u2019s conduct or contributes to the harm, that act may amount to a \u201csuperseding\u201d cause, which can cut off the defendant\u2019s liability. In order to be a superseding cause, the subsequent act must break the chain of causation between the defendant\u2019s negligent conduct and the resulting harm. That is, generally it must be something that could not be reasonably anticipated by the defendant.<\/p>\n