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Proximate Causation in a Michigan Drunk Driving Causing Death Case
A drunk driving causing death case always involves allegations that a person was driving a motor vehicle, while intoxicated, and the operation of the motor vehicle caused the death of another. As previously described, proving the “vehicle caused the death of another” involves two kinds of causation. Factual causation and proximate causation.
Of the two kinds of causation, proximate causation is the more difficult one to prove. It is also the more difficult one to understand and this is particularly true for criminal defense lawyers and prosecutors who are far less adept at utilizing these concepts than are civil lawyers handling negligence case. Also adding to the difficulty inherent in proximate causation because it is variously applied depending on the kind of case being litigated. In negligence law, proximate cause is often used to limit the otherwise limitless culpability that would inure using only the but-for test. Proximate cause is also wrapped around the concept of foreseeability.