Also known as: de facto causes · cause in fact · factual cause
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A factual cause of harm or an event. The defendant's conduct qualifies as a de facto cause when the harm would not have occurred in its absence.
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Doris Duffy and Diana Delgado both fire shots toward a bystander during a confrontation. One bullet strikes the bystander and causes serious injury, but ballistics cannot determine which shot was responsible. Because each defendant was negligent and the plaintiff cannot identify the actual shooter, the burden shifts to each to show her shot was not the de facto cause. Neither can do so, so both face liability for the injury.
Damian Decker and Diane Dawson each inflict a wound on a victim at the same moment. Decker's wound would have caused death in an hour while Dawson's wound kills the victim instantly. Dawson's act is the de facto cause of death because the victim would not have died at that instant without it. Decker may be guilty only of attempt.
De facto cause asks whether the harm would have occurred without the defendant's act. Proximate cause further limits liability by asking whether the harm is within the scope of the risk created by the conduct.
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The burden on actual causation shifts to the defendants. Each must prove that his or her conduct was not the de facto cause. If neither can, both may be held liable.
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Yes. The terms factual cause, but-for cause, and de facto cause all refer to the same inquiry: whether the harm would not have occurred absent the defendant's act.
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