The likelihood of survival test is a tort and criminal law concept that examines whether a defendant’s acts impact a victim’s chance of survival. The likelihood of survival test is used by courts to determine actual causation, which is further used to determine guilt in criminal law and liability in tort law.
According to the likelihood of survival test, if the defendant’s acts decreased the victim’s chance of survival, then the defendant is guilty/liable. For example, a reckless driver hits a person with their car. The victim sustained some injuries but survived the initial impact, but then a second reckless driver hits the person. The victim then died as a result of all of their injuries. Finally, apply the likelihood of survival test to estimate whether the victim would have survived the first impact to determine the second driver’s guilt/liability. The likelihood of survival test estimates a victim’s health, but since the prediction often cannot be 100% accurate, some courts refuse to apply the test.
[Last updated in August of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]