For a victim of a violent act, substantial cause means what percentage of causation?

• A. 50-60%
• B. 25-30%
• C. 70-80%
• D. 35-40%

Answer: (D)

Substantial cause means the violent act must contribute a meaningful, not minor, share to producing the injury. In this context, that share is measured as a percentage, and study materials for this SIP topic use roughly 35-40% as the threshold for what counts as substantial. So when the violent act accounts for about one-third to two-fifths of the causation, it meets the substantial-cause standard. If it contributes less (around 25-30%), it wouldn’t be considered substantial; if it contributes more (50-60% or 70-80%), it would clearly be substantial, but the question’s framework points to the 35-40% range as the defining boundary. An example: if the injury results from both the violent act and other factors, and the violent act contributes about 38% of the overall causation, that satisfies the substantial-cause criterion.