Supreme Court: "Death Due to Worsening Preexisting Condition from Overwork Recognized as Industrial Accident"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has ruled that if a worker suffering from overwork experiences a worsening of their illness and dies from pneumonia, it should be considered a work-related injury.

On the 11th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Park Jeonghwa) announced that it overturned the lower court's ruling, which had dismissed the appeal by the family of worker A, who died of pneumonia, against the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service's refusal to pay survivor benefits and funeral expenses, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.

In November 2014, A, the operations manager at a delivery company center, was diagnosed at a hospital with "nephrotic syndrome with diffuse membranous glomerulonephritis." Nephrotic syndrome is a disease in which the kidneys fail to function properly, causing large amounts of protein to be excreted in the urine.

Despite the doctor's opinion that "sufficient rest is necessary," A took only one day off and immediately returned to work, working 12-hour shifts.

The next day, he suddenly experienced abdominal pain and visited a hospital, where he was diagnosed with "renal vein embolism and thrombosis," a complication of nephrotic syndrome.

Even after this, he continued to work 12 to 13-hour shifts, and his condition worsened. In January 2015, he was diagnosed with pneumonia at a hospital. Despite hospitalization and intensive treatment, he died within a month.

Subsequently, A's family filed a claim with the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service for survivor benefits and funeral expenses under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act. However, the Service denied the claim, stating that "it is difficult to recognize that the disease causing A's death was related to work," and the family filed a lawsuit requesting the cancellation of this denial.

The first trial ruled that A died due to overwork and canceled the Service's decision. However, the second trial ruled against the plaintiff, judging that the pneumonia causing death was due to personal factors and was difficult to consider work-related.

However, the Supreme Court ruled to re-examine and reconsider the case. The court stated, "Despite the doctor's opinion that rest and stabilization were necessary after the onset, A immediately returned to work due to the workload at the delivery center," adding, "Performing work during the treatment period likely imposed a significant physical burden on him."

Furthermore, the court said, "The lower court misapplied the legal principles regarding the substantial causal relationship of work-related injuries and failed to conduct necessary investigations, which affected the judgment," and thus overturned and remanded the case.

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