Matthew Mincone | May 27, 2025 | Personal Injury
Understanding how causation works in a negligence case is key to knowing whether a personal injury claim will succeed. Causation connects a defendant’s actions to a plaintiff’s injury. Without it, there’s no liability—no matter how careless the behavior might have been.
Negligence claims hinge on proving four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. But causation often becomes the sticking point. Two types must be shown: actual cause (cause in fact) and proximate cause (legal cause). Both must be satisfied, or the claim fails.
What is “Actual Cause” in a Negligence Case?
Actual cause, also called “but-for” causation, asks a straightforward question: but for the defendant’s conduct, would the injury have occurred?
For example, suppose a driver runs a red light and hits a pedestrian. If the driver had not run the red light, the pedestrian would not have been hit. That driver’s action is the actual cause of the injury.
Florida courts require plaintiffs to clearly link the defendant’s conduct to the harm suffered. If the link is speculative, weak, or interrupted by other independent factors, the case can collapse before it even reaches a jury.
What is “Proximate Cause?”
Proximate cause deals with foreseeability. It asks whether the type of harm was a reasonably foreseeable result of the defendant’s actions.
Say someone spills oil on a grocery store floor and a shopper slips. A broken wrist is foreseeable. But if the fall somehow triggers a seizure from a preexisting medical condition, the store might argue that this wasn’t a foreseeable consequence.
In Florida, courts generally follow the foreseeability test. If a result is too remote, or a separate, unexpected event caused the injury, the defendant may not be held liable, even if their conduct set things in motion.
Intervening and Superseding Causes
Sometimes another event breaks the chain of causation. If that event is independent and unforeseeable, it’s considered a superseding cause, and it can relieve the original negligent party of liability.
Examples of superseding causes include:
- Criminal acts by third parties: If a security guard fails to patrol an area, but the actual injury is caused by a third-party assault, the criminal act might break the chain.
- Natural disasters: A negligent act followed by a hurricane or lightning strike might shift liability.
- Unforeseeable medical complications: If a treating doctor acts negligently and worsens the injury, the original defendant might not be liable for the full extent of harm.
However, if the intervening act was foreseeable, like ambulance delays or a minor medical error, it may not break the chain. Courts often evaluate these scenarios on a case-by-case basis.
Proving Causation in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Proving causation requires more than assumptions. Evidence is essential. Plaintiffs typically rely on:
- Medical records: These help establish the timeline and nature of injuries.
- Expert testimony: Medical and accident reconstruction experts can explain how an incident led to injury.
- Eyewitness accounts: Bystanders can confirm the sequence of events.
- Video or surveillance footage: This can capture the incident in real time.
Causation must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it’s more likely than not that the defendant caused the harm. If the evidence shows only a possibility, not a probability, the claim may fail.
Why Proving Causation Is Difficult
Defendants often concede duty and even breach, but causation gives them room to fight. Insurance defense lawyers will try to:
- Shift the blame to the plaintiff’s own actions
- Highlight preexisting medical conditions
- Point to unrelated events or third parties as the real cause
- Argue that the injury would have happened regardless
Florida follows a comparative negligence system, which means the plaintiff’s own fault can reduce their recovery. If causation is murky, insurers will exploit that to lower settlement offers—or push for dismissal.
Understanding Causation in a Negligence Case
Causation is the legal thread that ties everything together in a negligence claim. Without it, even the most obvious acts of carelessness may not lead to compensation. Knowing how to prove both actual and proximate cause is essential to building a strong personal injury case in Tampa or anywhere else in Florida.
Contact the Tampa Personal Injury Lawyers at Mincone Personal Injury Lawyers for Help Today
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Tampa, FL, contact our skilled personal injury lawyers at Mincone Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation.
We proudly serve Hillsborough County and its surrounding areas:
Mincone Personal Injury Lawyers
1925 E 6th Ave Ste 10
Tampa, FL 33605
(813) 800-0810
Our firm is located near you. We have an office in Tampa
Find us with our GeoCoordinates: 27.9593512,-82.4369179
About The Author
Attorney Matthew Mincone is the founder of Mincone Personal Injury Lawyers. He earned his law degree while attending night programs in New York and is licensed to practice in Florida. With over 15 years of legal experience, Matthew focuses on personal injury cases, including motor vehicle accidents involving cars, commercial trucks, and motorcycles. His commitment to personally handling each case ensures clients receive dedicated representation. Click here to view some of the remarkable case results that Matthew has successfully achieved.
Location: Tampa, FL