1. ) INTAN SHAHARZAD BINTI MOHD AZRI 2. ) AHMAD AZIB BIN AHMAD v 1. ) KERAJAAN MALAYSIA 2. ) PENGARAH HOSPITAL TELUK INTAN 3. ) DR KHAIRUL BAHARIN BIN MOHD BAHARUDDIN 4. ) DR EDWARD DANIEL A/L JACOB 5. ) KASMANI BIN KADIR 6. ) AHMAD HAILME BIN ABDUL HALIM

Case Significance

A notable application of employer duties under sections 15 and 16 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 to a pregnant employee, using the 'material contribution' causation test to link the failure to conduct a risk assessment or grant light duty with a miscarriage.

This decision of the High Court of Malaya at Ipoh concerns a claim in negligence and breach of statutory duty arising from a workplace pregnancy. The first plaintiff, a healthcare assistant employed at a government hospital, confirmed her early, high-risk pregnancy in October 2018 and informed her supervisors, presenting her antenatal record and orally requesting lighter duties on a government doctor's advice. No documented reproductive-health risk assessment was carried out under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and the associated guidelines; instead she was assigned physically demanding 'runner' duties — walking between departments and carrying items and patients — and on one day performed those duties alone when her partner was absent. She subsequently suffered a miscarriage, and she and her husband, the second plaintiff, sued the Government of Malaysia, the hospital director and several officers.

The court examined whether the employer owed and breached a statutory duty of proactive response under sections 15 and 16 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 upon disclosure of the pregnancy, and whether an internal policy requiring a written application for light duty was too rigid to answer an oral request supported by medical advice. On causation, it applied the 'material contribution' test rather than the strict 'but for' test, appropriate where multiple factors may contribute to an injury, and found that the breach materially increased the risk of miscarriage. The court held the defendants liable and awarded damages, including special damages of RM5,273.20 (encompassing an unchallenged sum for the husband's caregiving support) and general damages assessed at a total of RM80,000, apportioned to reflect the pain and suffering of the miscarriage and related distress, with a measured discount to reflect the absence of conclusive causation, together with interest to full satisfaction. The judgment is a notable application of occupational-safety duties to a pregnant employee.