In employer negligence claims for musculoskeletal conditions caused by cumulative workplace factors, establishing that the employer breached its duty of care (e.g., by removing safety measures without risk assessment) is insufficient to succeed. The plaintiff must also establish on the balance of probabilities that the specific measures the employer failed to adopt would probably have prevented or minimised the injury. Expert evidence that measures 'may' or 'could' lower the risk does not satisfy this standard. Where the plaintiff's case is that a combination of workplace conditions caused the injury but cannot prove which particular condition was causative, failure to prove negligence in relation to all conditions is fatal to the claim.
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