Causation and statistical evidence in tort liability A comparative analysis between Brazilian and European legal systems

Abstract

This article aims to present a study on the possibility of using statistical evidence for the construction of a causal link in the face of the uncertainties presented in the concrete case for the attribution of the duty to repair in situations derived from extra-contractual civil liability. To this end, the paper will address the concept of evidence and its function in the civil procedure, as well as analyze the intrinsic requirements of civil liability, especially the causal link, verifying which are the legal requirements for the attribution of the duty to indemnify in the Portuguese and Brazilian legal systems, also presenting foreign classical doctrinal constructions on the causal link. As to the statistical proof, its concept and modalities will be presented, as well as its application in real and hypothetical cases, in order to verify whether there would be the possibility of effectively applying this type of proof in civil lawsuits filed in Brazil and Portugal