What is the test for determining whether a defendant is liable for a motor vehicle accident under the California Vehicle Accident Act or the California Motor Vehicle Act?

The emphasized portion of each statute "is language of causation." ( In re A.M. (2009) 173 Cal.App.4th 668, 673, 93 Cal.Rptr.3d 168.) Two aspects of causation are at play: "cause in fact (also called direct or actual causation), and proximate cause." ( People v. Jones (2010) 187 Cal.App.4th 418, 424, 114 Cal.Rptr.3d 8.)

" An act is a cause in fact if it is a necessary antecedent of an event. [Citation.]" ( People v. Jones, supra , 187 Cal.App.4th at p. 425, 114 Cal.Rptr.3d 8.) " [T]hat the defendant's conduct was a necessary antecedent of the injury does not resolve the question of whether the defendant should be liable.... "[T]he consequences of an act go forward to eternity, and the causes of an event go back to the dawn of human events, and beyond. But any attempt to impose responsibility upon such a basis would result in infinite liability for all wrongful acts ...." [Citation.] Therefore, the law must impose limitations on liability other than simple causality. These additional limitations are related not only to the degree of connection between the conduct and the injury, but also with public policy. [Citation.] " ( Ibid. )