Think of a line of falling dominoes: if one push sets off the next few pieces in a way that makes sense, the result is connected. But if something strange interrupts the chain, the original push may be too far removed to blame for the final outcome.

In law and insurance, proximate cause is the legal link between an act and an injury. It asks whether the harm was a reasonably foreseeable result of what someone did or failed to do. Not every event that comes before an injury counts. A person can be an actual cause of harm, but still not be legally responsible if the connection is too remote or an unexpected outside event breaks the chain. That is different from simple cause in fact.

This matters in an injury claim because proving negligence is not enough by itself. The injured person also has to show that the conduct was close enough to the harm to support liability and damages. Insurance companies often argue that a later event, a preexisting condition, or someone else's conduct was the real cause.

In New York, proximate cause often comes up in car crash and work injury cases involving multiple actors. On a crowded route like the Long Island Expressway, several drivers may share fault, and proximate cause helps sort out whose conduct legally produced the injury. If the claim is against the MTA or a city agency, New York's notice of claim rules can also matter: under General Municipal Law § 50-e and Public Authorities Law provisions, notice is often due within 90 days.