In employer negligence cases involving failure to take preventive action (such as reprimanding or counselling an employee), the hypothetical inquiry into causation must be framed by reference to the specific content of the action that the duty of care required, not merely the general category of response. A failure to identify the specific content of the required response will vitiate the causation inquiry. Where the same behavioural deficiency that should have been addressed by the required response attended the incident giving rise to the claim, this is a powerful indicator that the required response would have averted the harm.
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