CONTENTS
- 1. Industrial Accident Damages | Matters Subject to Civil Claims
- 2. Industrial Accident Damages | Requirements for a Claim
- - Relationship with Industrial Accident Insurance Medical Care Benefits and the Like
- 3. Industrial Accident Damages | Procedure for a Damages Lawsuit
- - Items of Industrial Accident Damages
- - Supreme Court Decision Regarding Comparative Negligence Offset After Deduction
- 4. Industrial Accident Damages | Defense Strategy for the Defendant (Employer)
- - Organization of Evidentiary Materials by Item
- 5. Industrial Accident Damages | Points to Note When Liability Is Recognized or a Settlement Is Reached
- - Employer's Checklist for Preventing Industrial Accidents
1. Industrial Accident Damages | Matters Subject to Civil Claims
Industrial accident damages means that, when a worker suffers harm from a work-related accident or disease due to the employer's intent or negligence, the worker files a lawsuit for damages accordingly.
When an industrial accident harms a worker at a workplace, compensation is basically provided through industrial accident insurance via the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service.
However, this is separate from liability for damages under civil law.
In other words, even if treatment costs, temporary disability benefits, and the like have been received through industrial accident insurance, where the employer neglected the duty to take safety measures, separate damages may be claimed on the basis of tort liability under civil law.
Industrial accident insurance is based on no-fault compensation, but for industrial accident damages that must be claimed under civil law, the employer's negligence must be recognized.
2. Industrial Accident Damages | Requirements for a Claim
Even after receiving industrial accident insurance benefits, a worker may additionally claim damages from the employer if the following requirements are met.
1) The employer's intent or gross negligence
It must be proven that the industrial accident occurred due to the employer's intent or gross negligence.
Representative examples include inadequate workplace safety facilities, directing hazardous work without providing training, and failure to supply protective equipment.
2) Confirmation of the extinctive prescription of the claim
A claim for damages proceeds as a civil lawsuit and must generally be filed within three years from the date of the accident, and within ten years from the date the tort became known.
Relationship with Industrial Accident Insurance Medical Care Benefits and the Like
However, if the beneficiary (the victim) has received industrial accident insurance benefits on the same ground, the employer is exempt from liability for damages to the beneficiary up to the amount of those benefits.
Therefore, if the victim's side first receives industrial accident compensation insurance benefits and then demands damages from the employer, the amount of damages is reduced accordingly from the employer's standpoint.
In addition, because civil damages are in principle paid as a lump sum, if the victim's side has received a disability compensation annuity or a survivors' compensation annuity, they are deemed to have received a disability compensation lump sum or a survivors' compensation lump sum, and the amount obtained by converting the annuity into a lump sum is deducted from the damages.
3. Industrial Accident Damages | Procedure for a Damages Lawsuit
If a worker wishes to claim damages, the worker files a civil lawsuit against the employer.
| Filing of suit by the injured worker → service of the complaint → submission of the answer by the employer → pleadings and examination of evidence → pronouncement of judgment → appeal or other challenge → final confirmation |
At this point, the employer should keep the following in mind.
When the employer receives the complaint, it must immediately begin confirming the facts and collecting evidence.
The employer should likewise retain on-site records and, if necessary, prepare to rebut them through expert appraisal and the like.
Items of Industrial Accident Damages
Industrial accident damages aim to compensate for actual losses that are not covered by insurance. The items of damages for a tort can be defined as follows.
Positive loss (treatment costs, nursing care costs, cost of assistive devices)
-Self-paid treatment costs incurred before industrial accident medical care, and treatment costs excluded from medical care benefits
-Future treatment costs
-Cost of assistive devices
-Nursing care costs
[Scope of Medical Care]
- Examination
- Provision of medicines and treatment materials
- Provision of artificial limbs and orthotic devices
- Procedures, surgery, and other treatment
- Hospitalization and nursing care
- Transportation costs
Negative loss (lost income, lost retirement allowance)
-The full amount of expected income during the treatment period
-The amount corresponding to the loss of working capacity after the conclusion of treatment
-The loss of retirement allowance resulting from early retirement due to inability to work until the retirement age
Mental loss (consolation money)
-The mental suffering of the injured worker or the surviving family
-Calculated by comprehensively considering the degree of the accident, the degree of fault, and the victim's age and occupation, among other factors
Comparative negligence offset and loss-gain offset
-Comparative negligence offset calculated according to the worker's percentage of fault
-Temporary disability benefits, disability benefits, survivors' compensation benefits, and funeral expenses are deducted
Supreme Court Decision Regarding Comparative Negligence Offset After Deduction
Decision 2023Da297141, rendered on June 26, 2025
This is a case in which a worker who suffered an industrial accident, after receiving industrial accident insurance benefits, claimed compensation for the remaining loss from the employer, asserting that there was lost income not covered by the industrial accident insurance benefits.
The lower court held that, applying the method of comparative negligence offset before deduction, if the injured worker's fault (30%) is first offset and then the disability benefits already paid are deducted, there is no remaining lost income.
However, the Supreme Court, considering the social security nature of industrial accident insurance and the balancing of interests among the injured worker, the Service, and the tortfeasor, held that the ‘deduction before comparative negligence offset’ method should be applied to this case, and reversed and remanded the lower court's judgment.
Deduction before comparative negligence offset is a method of first subtracting the industrial accident insurance benefits from the amount of loss and then multiplying the remaining amount by the percentage of fault.
4. Industrial Accident Damages | Defense Strategy for the Defendant (Employer)
In industrial accident damages, in order for the employer to have the claim dismissed or to reduce its liability, the following evidentiary materials should be collected quickly.
Organization of Evidentiary Materials by Item
Evidence Item | Specific Evidentiary Materials |
1. Materials showing fulfillment of safety and health measure obligations | - Regular safety and health training logs and attendee signature sheets - Distribution ledger and signature sheet for protective equipment (safety helmets, safety shoes, etc.) - Risk assessment reports and on-site inspection checklists - Work procedure manuals, safety manuals, and emergency response manuals |
2. Materials on the situation immediately before and after the accident | - CCTV footage of the accident scene and photographs before and after the accident - Work order and work log for the day of the accident - Records of detected violations of safety rules - Witness statements and materials confirming whether the injured worker had consumed alcohol |
3. Materials on the response after the accident | - Records of submission of the industrial accident investigation report - Materials reported to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service - Report on on-site improvement measures after the accident - Records of communications with the surviving family and the worker (documents/recordings) |
4. Materials on loss-gain offset and comparative negligence offset | - Statement of decisions to pay industrial accident insurance benefits (temporary disability benefits, disability benefits, etc.) - Materials for calculating average wages - The worker's past industrial accident records (similar fault) |
5. Materials confirmed by external agencies | - Inspection reports by safety managers and occupational health physicians - Industrial safety consulting results - Confirmation of compliance with inspector inspections and corrective measures |
See More
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5. Industrial Accident Damages | Points to Note When Liability Is Recognized or a Settlement Is Reached
In addition to liability for damages, an employer may be subject simultaneously to criminal punishment for violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and the like.
For example, when a fatal accident occurs, a work suspension order, a supervisory investigation, and referral to prosecution proceed together.
If additional violations are detected in this process, not only a fine but also imprisonment may be imposed on the representative as an individual.
If a serious industrial accident occurs (one or more fatalities, two or more injured in the same accident, or three or more workers with an occupational disease from the same harmful factor), punitive damages apply, and the scope of the damages can broaden to up to five times.
In particular, some workplaces attempt to settle disputes merely through an ‘out-of-pocket settlement’ or by ‘paying a consolation amount’ after an accident.
However, this instead increases the risk of future criminal punishment.
If a settlement agreement is drawn up with the worker's side including a clause stating that they ‘will not file an industrial accident claim,’ there is a high likelihood of being mistaken for concealing an industrial accident afterward.
A settlement must be carried out after obtaining legal advice, and drawing up a lawful settlement agreement is necessary.
Employer's Checklist for Preventing Industrial Accidents
Prevention is the best approach to industrial accidents.
However, if an unexpected accident occurs, the employer must immediately carry out the following.
On the defendant's side in industrial accident damages, the employer can present a defense argument by asserting that safety and health measures were fully implemented and that the accident was due to force majeure factors, among other points.
In such cases, with the help of specialized evidence-collection personnel, labor attorneys, serious accident attorneys, and civil litigation attorneys, rapid collection of evidence and the establishment of a defense framework under the Labor Standards Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the like become possible.
If you have been faced with a claim for industrial accident damages, a serious accident attorney can respond at any time, including weekends and holidays, when you leave an inquiry for legal consultation.
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