What does "causation" refer to in negligence claims?

Causation in negligence claims is fundamentally the connection established between a defendant's breach of duty and the damages suffered by the plaintiff. To prove causation, a plaintiff must show that the defendant's conduct not only breached a duty of care but that this breach directly led to the injuries or damages claimed. This involves two key components: actual cause (or cause-in-fact), which addresses whether the harm would have occurred "but for" the defendant's actions, and proximate cause, which assesses whether the harm was a foreseeable result of those actions.

In negligence law, the concept of causation is crucial because it establishes liability; without linking the breach of duty to the actual harm suffered, the claim cannot succeed. Therefore, causation operates as the bridge that connects a negligent act to the injury that arises from it, allowing for a clear understanding of how the defendant's actions resulted in the plaintiff's damages.