When someone is injured in an accident, proving that another party was negligent is only part of the case. To recover compensation, the injured person must also prove causation, which links the defendant’s actions and the plaintiff’s injuries. Without causation, even clear negligence may not result in liability.
Causation plays a central role in personal injury claims. Courts require plaintiffs to demonstrate that the defendant’s conduct both factually and legally caused their damages. Understanding how causation works under Indiana law helps accident victims know what is required to succeed in their case.
What Is Causation?
In personal injury law, causation refers to the connection between a negligent act and the resulting harm. It answers the question: Did the defendant’s behavior actually cause the plaintiff’s injuries, and should the defendant be held legally responsible for those injuries?
There are two primary aspects of causation:
- Cause-in-fact (actual cause): This asks whether the injury would have occurred but for the defendant’s conduct. If a driver runs a red light and crashes into another car, the collision would not have occurred but for the driver’s action.
- Proximate cause (legal cause): This limits liability to reasonably foreseeable harms. Even if a negligent act set off a chain of events, courts may decide that liability should not extend to highly unusual or unforeseeable consequences.
Both types of causation must be satisfied to prove liability in Indiana.
Comparative Fault and Causation
Indiana law recognizes that negligence claims require proof of causation. According to Indiana law, fault is determined by comparing the degree of fault of all parties. A plaintiff may recover damages as long as their fault does not exceed 50 percent. This modified comparative fault system means that proving the defendant’s conduct caused the injury is essential because, without causation, fault cannot be properly assigned.
Additionally, Indiana courts consistently stress that proximate cause requires the injury to be a natural and probable consequence of the defendant’s negligence. If the harm was too remote or unforeseeable, the causation element may not be satisfied.
Examples of Causation in Indiana Cases
Causation can be straightforward in some cases and highly complex in others. Here are a few examples:
- Straightforward cause-in-fact: A driver who fails to yield at an intersection and collides with another car is the direct cause of the victim’s injuries. Both cause-in-fact and proximate cause are clear.
- Multiple contributing factors: If a truck driver is speeding but the injured plaintiff was not wearing a seatbelt, causation becomes more complicated. The truck driver’s conduct contributed to the accident, but so did the plaintiff’s choices. In such situations, Indiana’s modified comparative fault system assigns percentages of responsibility to each party.
- Unforeseeable consequences: If a store fails to fix a broken handrail, and weeks later a customer leans on it, falls, and is injured, causation is likely satisfied. However, if the same broken handrail were later used in an unrelated criminal act that injures someone, the store would probably not be held liable because the outcome was not foreseeable.
These examples show how causation is a matter of both fact and foreseeability under Indiana law.
Evidence Used to Prove Causation
Because causation is so central to personal injury cases, lawyers use a variety of different types of evidence to establish it:
- Medical records linking the injury directly to the accident
- Expert testimony from doctors or accident reconstructionists to show how the defendant’s actions caused the harm
- Witness statements describing the events leading up to the accident
- Photographs and video evidence of the accident scene and resulting injuries
- Scientific or technical reports that explain the mechanics of the accident
Strong evidence of causation ensures that the plaintiff can establish a connection between negligence and damages in a manner that satisfies Indiana courts.
Challenges to Proving Causation
Causation is often one of the most contested issues in personal injury cases. Common challenges include:
- Pre-existing conditions: Defendants may argue that the plaintiff’s injuries existed before the accident and were not caused by it.
- Intervening events: If another event occurs between the defendant’s negligence and the plaintiff’s injury, it may break the chain of causation.
- Multiple defendants: In cases involving multiple negligent parties, determining the extent to which each contributed to the harm can be complex.
Plaintiffs must overcome these challenges with solid evidence and expert testimony to show that the defendant’s actions were a significant cause of their injuries.
Contact Rob King & Associates, Trial Lawyers for a Free Consultation With an Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyer
Causation is one of the most important elements of personal injury law in Indiana. Victims must prove both cause-in-fact and proximate cause to hold a defendant accountable.
If you have been injured in Indiana, working with a skilled Indianapolis personal injury attorney ensures that evidence of causation is properly developed and presented. Call Rob King & Associates, Trial Lawyers, today at (317) 916-0000 to schedule a free consultation.
