In tort law, which description best captures proximate cause?

• A. Duty
• B. The chain of causation
• C. The link between the conduct and the injury
• D. Injury

Answer: (C)

Proximate cause is about the legal link between what the defendant did and the harm that occurred—the injury must be a foreseeable, natural consequence of the conduct and within the scope of liability. That connection is what makes the defendant responsible in tort law. The description that best captures this is the link between the conduct and the injury, because it focuses on whether the harm flows from the defendant’s actions in a way that the law recognizes as liability-bearing.

Duty relates to the obligation to act reasonably, which is a separate element. The chain of causation refers to the sequence of events from act to injury but doesn’t by itself capture the legal connection and foreseeability that proximate cause requires. Injury describes the harm suffered, not the causal connection that justifies liability.