Stress related to work and breakdown of employee’s marriage

Where, in a case of psychiatric injury to an employee caused by stress related to work, the evidence showed a breakdown in the employee’s marriage at the same time or shortly after the employer’s breach of duty, a judge should carry out a careful analysis to give proper consideration of the fact that the marital breakdown had taken place at a time when the employee was undoubtedly vulnerable and suffering from the effects of the work-related injury. That included determining whether the employee would have lost his job in any event as a result of mental damage caused by the marriage breakdown, and what the position would have been if there had been no breach of duty and no work stress related injury.