Proximate cause is the determination that the defendant's breach of duty resulted directly in the plaintiff's injury
A defense to negligence. An unforeseeable event that interrupts the causal chain between the defendant's breach of duty and the damages the plaintiff suffered. Allow the defendant to avoid liability because they are evidence that the defendant's breach of duty was not the proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries.
The Aztec empire was taken by the Spaniards
Japan invested its newfound financial growth into institution such as education and not military resulting in it taking a lead in technology 20 years later.