“Material increase in risk can establish causation in certain circumstances.”
A worker contracted dermatitis after being exposed to brick dust without adequate washing facilities. Medical evidence showed the negligent prolonged exposure increased the risk of dermatitis but could not prove it caused the disease on the balance of probabilities.
Whether causation can be established in negligence when the defendant's breach materially increased the risk of the harm that occurred, even without proof that it probably caused the harm.
The House of Lords found for the claimant, holding that proof of material increase in risk could establish causation in appropriate circumstances.
Introduced flexibility into causation requirements for cases involving uncertain causal mechanisms, particularly in industrial disease. Led to significant development in Fairchild and remains important for understanding factual causation.
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OSCOLA Citation
McGhee v National Coal Board [1973] 1 WLR 1 (HL)
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