Death from Cerebral Hemorrhage After Argument with Supervisor... Court Rules "Work-Related Injury"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A court ruling has determined that the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service must pay survivor benefits to the family of a worker who died from a cerebral hemorrhage after an argument with a workplace superior.

On the 30th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 8 (Presiding Judge Lee Jonghwan) ruled in favor of the family of the deceased safety guide A in a lawsuit against the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, which had denied survivor benefits and funeral expenses.

A, who worked as a safety guide, suddenly collapsed and died from a subarachnoid hemorrhage last February after a verbal dispute with the site team leader. It is known that A argued with the team leader during the process of protesting an order to move barricades at the construction site to make space for a cargo truck to unload materials.

The family filed a lawsuit, claiming that A experienced extreme stress during the dispute over the unfair work order and that prolonged outdoor work in the middle of winter was the cause.

However, the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service refused to pay survivor benefits and funeral expenses, stating that it was difficult to consider the cerebral hemorrhage as caused by A's work.

The court's judgment differed. It was concluded that A's work content and overall work environment, especially the severe conflict with the team leader just before death, overlapped with physical predispositions and likely caused the subarachnoid hemorrhage that directly led to death. The court explained, "The deceased's dispute was not a temporary clash, as he even called a third party to restrain the team leader's actions," and added, "The deceased must have experienced a psychological state of mixed excitement and anxiety and suffered severe mental stress."

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