Proof of Causation in Tort Law

by Sandy Steel

Overview

Causation is a foundational concept in tort law: in claims for compensation, a claimant must demonstrate that the defendant was a cause of the injury suffered in order for compensation to be awarded. Proof of Causation in Tort Law provides a critical, comparative and theoretical analysis of the general proof rules of causation underlying the tort laws of England, Germany and France, as well as the exceptional departures from these rules which each system has made. Exploring the different approaches to uncertainty over causation in tort law, Sandy Steel defends the justifiability of some of these exceptions, and categorises and examines the kinds of exceptional rules suggested by the case law and literature. Critically engaged with both the theoretical literature and current legal doctrine, this book will be of interest to private law scholars, judges and legal practitioners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107049109
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/11/2015
Series:	Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law , #120
Pages:	462
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.98(d)

About the Author

Sandy Steel is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford. He was previously a Lecturer in Law at King's College London. His work has been cited by the High Court of Australia. In 2013, he was a Visiting Fellow at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster. His other books include Great Debates in Jurisprudence (co-authored with Nick McBride, 2014) and The Structure of Tort Law (a translation of Nils Jansen's Die Struktur des Haftungsrechts, forthcoming).

Table of Contents

Preface; Table of cases; Introduction; 1. Causal concepts and causal questions in tort law; 2. General proof of causation rules; 3. Justifying proof of causation; 4. Defendant indeterminacy: full liability and proportional liability; 5. Full liability beyond defendant indeterminacy; 6. Probabilistic liability; Conclusion.

Editorial Reviews

'Steel’s comprehensive scholarship and razor-sharp analysis promises to bring some much-needed clarity to an area of the law in dire need of reform. I hope and expect it will be widely read.' Alex Kaiserman, Cambridge Law Journal

'Dr Steel has been able to survey the field and test the various parts for consistency, normative justification, practicality and morality. He has been able to bring to bear a huge quantity of literature in English, French and German. His bibliography, by my count, runs to over 800 separate items. All this with remarkable clarity and conciseness. If, as seems all too likely, there are to be further difficult cases on causation, the judiciary will at least be able to test their intuitions against the analysis in this book.' Lord Hoffmann, Law Quarterly Review

'A very substantial contribution to the literature …' Chris Miller, Professional Negligence

From the Publisher