Sanders v. American Body Armor and Equipment, Inc.
Florida First District Court of Appeal
652 So.2d 883 (1995)
Undercover officer Warren Sanders was fatally shot 15 times, with his body armor -- made by American Body Armor (defendant) -- deflecting most of the bullets, but two bullets struck him nearly simultaneously: one that missed the armor entirely and hit his abdomen, and one that came through a seam in the armor and hit his chest. The Sanders estate (plaintiff) sued the armor manufacturer for negligence, but the trial court held the estate couldn't establish cause in fact for the chest wound, reasoning that the simultaneous abdomen shot would have killed Sanders regardless of the chest wound.
Whether a but-for test for cause in fact is appropriate in a negligence action when more than one concurrent cause of the injury exists.