Deliberate self-infliction of harm, including suicide, will generally break the chain of causation in a negligence claim unless the defendant owed a specific duty to prevent self-harm (such as in custodial cases). Where an employee suffers a workplace injury and later commits suicide, the suicide must itself be reasonably foreseeable as a consequence of the original tort, assessed by reference to a person of normal fortitude unless the defendant knew of the plaintiff's susceptibility. Stress arising from cross-examination in litigation proceedings may constitute a novus actus interveniens breaking the causal chain from the original tort. The question whether reasonable foreseeability is required under the Compensation to Relatives Act 1897 (NSW) was left open.
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