An act, independent of an original act and not readily foreseeable, that breaks the chain of causation and sets a new chain of events in motion is called

• A. Common carrier
• B. Intervening act
• C. Reasonable person test
• D. Statute

Answer: (B)

The main idea is the influence of an intervening act on the chain of causation. An intervening act is something that happens after the defendant’s original negligent act and is independent of it. If that new act is not reasonably foreseeable, it can break the link between the initial negligence and the final harm, effectively creating a new sequence of events. In tort law, liability generally attaches to harms that are the natural and probable result of the negligent act within the foreseeable chain; when a truly independent and unforeseeable intervening act occurs, it can relieve the original wrongdoer of liability because the chain of causation has been interrupted. The other options don’t fit this concept: a common carrier is a type of carrier with special duties, the reasonable person test is a standard for measuring duty of care rather than a causal event, and a statute refers to law rather than a causal act.