The Supreme Court Clarifies Causation Principles In Negligence Cases

On June 29, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the rules governing proof of causation in the law of negligence and endorsed a robust approach to establishing causation in Canada.

The Court confirmed that the law requires a plaintiff to prove on a balance of probabilities that the injury or loss would not have occurred "but for" the defendant's negligent act. The trial judge is to take a robust and pragmatic approach in determining whether a plaintiff has proved, as a matter of fact, that the defendant's negligence caused her loss. Only in exceptional circumstances can proof of factual causation be replaced by proof of a material contribution to the risk that gave rise to the injury.