Serious Citizen Accident

When the Serious Accidents Punishment Act applies, the following cases may be judged to be serious civic accidents.

Accidents caused by a manufactured product

• An incident in which heated insulating oil spilled from inside a transformer-rectifier, causing full-body severe burns and death
• An incident at a hospital in which a muscle relaxant was administered, causing one death and a mass shock accident

Accidents caused by a raw material

• An incident in which humidifier disinfectant resulted in approximately 8,000 persons filing claims for harm
• An incident in Gumi in which a hydrofluoric acid gas leak caused harm, including five deaths and twelve serious injuries

① Public-use facilities

These refer to buildings or facilities used by many people that are of a certain size or larger as prescribed by Presidential Decree. Small shops of small business owners and educational facilities such as schools are excluded.

② Means of transportation

Public means of transportation include urban railways (subways), railways, route buses, passenger ships, and aircraft used by an unspecified number of people.

Dedicated railways and certain special means of transport are excluded.

③ Raw materials and manufactured products

Manufactured products include all goods made in factories, and various items used by ordinary consumers, such as electronic products, automobiles, and food, may all fall within this category.

Here, raw materials and the like are subject to application without limitation in scope, covering all raw materials and manufactured products.

[Examples of raw materials and manufactured products subject to measures]

• Toxic gases
• Pesticides, natural plant protection agents, and fertilizers
• Narcotics and hazardous chemical substances
• Biocidal substances and products
• Food and food additives
• Medical devices and quasi-drugs (including those for animals)
• Radioactive materials
• Explosives

In modern society, the management and operation of public-use facilities or means of transport are often subcontracted or entrusted to outside parties.

In such cases, if the original business operator substantively controls, operates, and manages the facility, it cannot escape the duty to ensure safety even though the matter was entrusted to a third party.

In other words, when determining where responsibility lies, an accident victim may hold liable not only the company entrusted with operations but also the original business operator (the principal contractor).

What is substantive control, operation, and management responsibility?

The law regards a company or corporation as substantively controlling, operating, and managing the facilities, manufactured products, and similar items in the following cases.

① Where it holds rights over the place, facility, or equipment, such as ownership, the right of possession, or a leasehold

② Where it can control the hazards and risks arising from raw materials or manufactured products being produced, manufactured, sold, or distributed by the business or workplace

③ Where it has a duty to manage the items safely by carrying out repairs and reinforcement

When a serious civil accident occurs, the safety and health officer must report it to the police and fire stations.

After reporting the situation to the administrative agency without delay, the officer must carry out emergency relief measures for the casualties and emergency safety measures, and the responsible manager must be made aware of the occurrence immediately.

[Items to report for a serious civil accident]

• Time and place of the accident
• Content and cause of the accident
• Status of the spread of accident damage
• Status of on-site emergency response and evacuation
• Contact information of the reporter and the person in charge of the workplace

An important matter for victims is precisely the matter of damages.

If a business owner or chief executive officer violates a duty through intent or gross negligence and a serious citizen accident occurs, the victim may claim damages of up to five times the amount of the loss.

The court determines the amount of damages by comprehensively considering the following matters.

• The degree of intent or gross negligence
• The type, duration, and frequency of the violation
• The scale of the damage and the economic benefit to the company
• The company's financial condition and its efforts to remedy the damage, among others

This is a system intended to allow the victim to receive substantially sufficient compensation.

A serious civic accident is no longer someone else's concern to be watched from a distance.

This is because large discount stores, subways, performance venues, buses, passenger ships, aircraft, and even the products we use every day are directly connected to safety.

In the unlikely event that you become a victim of a serious civic accident due to an unexpected incident, it is advisable to confirm, with the help of a professional, whether there was a defect in the relevant facility or product and whether the manager violated any obligations.

A victim may receive substantive protection not only through a simple claim for damages but also through aggravated compensation and the pursuit of criminal liability.

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act now serves as a minimum safety net for protecting the lives and safety of citizens.

The industrial accident attorneys of this firm's Labor and Industrial Accident Group will do their utmost to provide a prompt and thorough legal response so that victims of serious civic accidents can realize the legitimate rights they are entitled to exercise.