Law:

Section:

Tort--- ----Negligence--- Duty of care--- Employer-employee--- Actionable personal injury--- Scope--- Financial losses of employees on redeployment or termination---Claimants were employed by the defendant (employer) at chemical plants on processes involving platinum salts---In breach of statutory duty the claimants were exposed to higher levels of platinum salts than they should have been---Such platinum sensitisation was not itself physically harmful but lead to allergic reaction involving physical symptoms on further exposure to platinum salts---Claimants' contracts of employment provided for regular checks to screen employees for development of platinum sensitisation, and for sensitised employees to be removed from work areas subject to exposure for possible redeployment and, if redeployment were not possible, for the termination of their employment on special conditions---After such checks, the claimants were found to have developed sensitivity to platinum salts and accordingly were redeployed or dismissed, or resigned---Claimants brought proceedings alleging, inter alia, negligence on the part of the defendant and seeking damages for loss of earnings as a result of losing relatively well paid employment in areas of the plants where it was known that there was an increased risk of exposure to platinum salts---Trial judge found that platinum sensitisation in itself was not a physical injury sufficient to give rise to a cause of action in tort---Court of Appeal upheld decision of Trial judge on the basis that platinum sensitisation did not give rise to detrimental physical effects in the course of ordinary life---Held, that negligence and breach of statutory duty were not actionable in and of themselves---Claimants had to establish that there had been damage in the form of actionable personal injury---Personal injury could be seen as a physical change which made the claimant appreciably worse off in respect of his health or capability, including an injury sustained to person's physical capacity of enjoying life, and as an impairment---Personal injury could also be hidden and symptomless---Absence of symptoms did not prevent a condition amounting to…

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