The Defendant's Act Need Not be the Only Cause of the Prohibited Consequence
R v Benge confirms that a defendant can still be liable even when other causes were present. R v Benge (1865) 4 F & F 504 FACTS: Benge was the foreman of some railway tracklayers. He thought that the next train was not due for several hours and so ordered the track to be taken up. He sent a man with a red flag down the track to stop any trains. However, this signalman did not go the correct distance and the driver of the train, it appeared, was not keeping a good look out. The train crashed and several people were killed. HELD: If the defendant's negligence mainly or substantially caused the accident, it was irrelevant that it might have been avoided if other persons had not been negligent. So long as it could be shown that the defendant was negligent and his negligence was a main/substantial cause of the crash, the subsequent negligence of the train driver and flag holder were immaterial.