Philippine Bar review · Question

Practice question: Efficient Intervening Cause

Multiple Choice Medium

Practice question

An unlawful minor injury completely heals. Reliable evidence proves that a later independent collision, wholly unrelated to the original incident, alone causes death. What follows for the original assailant’s causal responsibility for that death?
  1. Every later death remains attributable forever
  2. Healing automatically excuses the original injury
  3. The independent collision defeats attribution of that death on these facts, without erasing liability for the original injury
  4. The collision proves the original assault was justified
  5. The assailant must be convicted of homicide solely because the injury came first

Legal references

  • https://lawphil.net/statutes/acts/act1930/act_3815_1930.html — RPC Article 4(1): causal responsibility for consequences.
  • https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2005/mar2005/gr_155791_2005.html — Quinto v. Andres, G.R. 155791, March 16, 2005, main decision: distinct foreign active cause and criminal causation.
  • https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2023/mar2023/gr_238798_2023.html — CICL XXX v. People, G.R. 238798, March 14, 2023, main decision: alleged medical delay does not automatically break the injury-to-death chain.
  • https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2011/sep2011/gr_186412_2011.html — People v. Villacorta, G.R. 186412, September 7, 2011, main decision: evidentiary failure linking the initial wound to fatal infection, not a categorical infection rule.

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