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The question of proximate cause in this context is ordinarily for the jury unless the facts are undisputed and do not admit reasonable differences of opinion, in which case cause in fact is a question of law for the court.

Proximate cause is often used as a standard in determining liability for torts and criminal offenses. Under tort law, the test for proximate cause is often foreseeability – if the harm that occurred was a foreseeable consequence of the action, then that action is a proximate cause of the harm.

(1) Members of the jury, now it is time for me to instruct you about the law you must follow in deciding this case. (2) I will start by explaining your duties and the general rules that apply in every criminal case. (3) Then I will explain the elements of the crimes that the defendant is accused of committing.

For jury instructions to be effective, they must be clear and simple. Sentences should be short; instruc- • tions should contain no more than a few sentences, cover only one topic, and be directly related to the circumstances of the case (they should not be abstract statements of the law).

The test for proximate cause determines if the injury was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the action. This test relies on the question: was the victim's injury a foreseeable consequence of the defendant's action? If the answer is 'yes,' then you can conclude that the act was the proximate cause of the injury.

However, if your injury would not have occurred “but for” the actions of another, then usually you can conclude there was proximate causation. Usually, this is an easy question. Example: Driver of “Car A” runs a red light and hits “Car B,” which had a green light, causing injury to the driver of Car B.

WPI 15.01 (7th ed.) The term “proximate cause” means a cause which in a direct sequence unbroken by any superseding cause, produces the injury event complained of and without which such injury event would not have happened. There may be more than one proximate cause of an injury event.

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A party must persuade you, by the evidence presented in court, that what he or she is required to prove is more likely to be true than not true. This is referred to as "the burden of proof."