Proximate Cause in California: The “Substantial Factor” Standard Explained
When you are injured in an accident, insurance companies often focus on one question: Are your injuries actually connected to what happened? That connection is what lawyers and courts call proximate cause. A proximate cause is the legal way of asking whether someone’s actions (or failure to act) are closely enough tied to your harm to hold them responsible. In California personal injury cases, causation is often framed using the “substantial factor” concept, which we