Tag: Workplace Chemical Exposure

LEGAL UPDATES – TORT – NEGLIGENCE – CAUSATION – CHEMICAL EXPOSURE PROVEN, BUT NO LIABILITY: WHY CAUSATION MATTERS

Can a negligence claim succeed simply because unsafe conditions are proven? In Dr Nurul Aiman bt Mohd Yusof v Universiti Sains Malaysia [2026] 9 MLJ 893, the High Court held that it cannot. Although chemical contamination at the workplace was established, the plaintiff failed to prove that the exposure was the operative and effective cause of her heart condition. The Court reaffirmed that in negligence claims, proving a breach of duty is only half the battle – without establishing causation on a balance of probabilities, the claim must fail.