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.

Joint Runner-up, 2016 Birks Prize, The Society of Legal Scholars

'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 Source: 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 Source: Law Quarterly Review

'A very substantial contribution to the literature …'

Chris Miller Source: Professional Negligence