Supreme Court Recognizes First Liability for Damages of Humidifier Disinfectant Manufacturer

First Trial Denies Manufacturer Liability for Damages... Second Trial Confirms Design and Labeling Defects

The first final ruling recognizing the civil liability for damages of a humidifier disinfectant manufacturer that caused lung disease has been issued.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) on the 9th upheld the lower court's ruling ordering Oxy Reckitt Benckiser (Oxy), the manufacturer and seller of the humidifier disinfectant, and the supplier Hanbit Chemical to pay 5 million won in consolation damages to Kim, a victim of the humidifier disinfectant, in the appeal trial for damages.

The court found that the humidifier disinfectant manufactured by the manufacturer had design and labeling defects, and that the victim suffered lung damage due to those defects.

Kim used Oxy's humidifier disinfectant from November 2007 to April 2011. He was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease and other conditions in May 2013. However, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) issued a grade 3 rating in March 2014, stating that "the possibility of lung disease caused by the humidifier disinfectant is low" based on their investigation.

Subsequently, in February 2015, Kim filed a lawsuit for damages against Oxy and Hanbit Chemical. The first trial court rejected his claim. On the other hand, the second trial court ruled in September 2019 that "the humidifier disinfectant manufactured and sold by the defendants had design and labeling defects, which caused physical harm to the plaintiff," ordering payment of 5 million won in consolation damages.

The Supreme Court held that the KDCA's investigation, which gave a "low possibility" (level 3) rating, only assessed the likelihood of lung disease centered on the terminal bronchioles caused by the humidifier disinfectant, and that the determination of causality between the use of the humidifier disinfectant and the occurrence or worsening of disease in a damages lawsuit may vary depending on the specific evidence presented by the user of the humidifier disinfectant.

The court stated, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment regarding the presumption of causality in product liability and the proof of causality for non-specific diseases that affected the ruling," and added, "The court may determine the amount of consolation damages at its discretion considering various circumstances, and reviewing the records shows no error in the application of the law regarding the calculation of consolation damages that affected the ruling."

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