After Being Trapped in Company Elevator, Panic Disorder Worsens… Court Rules "Work-Related Injury"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The court recognized a work-related injury for an office worker who experienced a worsening of panic disorder and ultimately took their own life after being trapped in the company elevator on the way home from work.

According to the legal community on the 13th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 3 (Chief Judge Hwanwoo Yoo) ruled in favor of the family of the deceased Mr. A in a lawsuit against the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service seeking the cancellation of the denial of survivor benefits and funeral expenses. The court stated, "The accident experienced by Mr. A occurred while he was using the building elevator to leave the office, which falls under an accident caused by defects or negligence in the management of facilities provided by the employer according to the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act."

On October 5, 2016, around 9 p.m., Mr. A was trapped in the company building elevator for more than 10 minutes while leaving work. The rescue team arrived about 40 minutes after the accident and found Mr. A already collapsed. The emergency activity log noted, "After being rescued, he was very shocked and anxious, unable to calm down, with suspected hyperventilation causing numbness in hands and feet." Six days after the accident, Mr. A was diagnosed with panic disorder at a neuropsychiatric clinic. Despite receiving medical treatment, his condition worsened. In April 2017, Mr. A took his own life in his room.

The family of Mr. A applied for survivor benefits, claiming that the elevator accident led to his death. However, the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service rejected the claim, stating, "There is a possibility that the panic disorder was caused by personal reasons." The family then filed an administrative lawsuit in response.

The court judged, "Mr. A's panic disorder worsened due to the elevator accident, which was a work-related injury, or due to work-related stress overlapping with the accident, aggravating a latent predisposition (素因, physical condition susceptible to illness) to panic disorder." It was also considered that although Mr. A had a predisposition to panic disorder before the accident, he was able to maintain normal work life without treatment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.