Industrial Accident Damages | Responding to a Worker's Claim for 200 Million Won in Industrial Accident Damages, with the Claim Dismissed

The client is a representative who runs a manufacturing company, operating a business that consigns the machining of metal parts for production.

The workers perform tasks operating machinery in accordance with certain work processes.

The injured worker (hereinafter the plaintiff) suffered an accident in which a finger was caught in a machine while operating a press machine as usual.

Accordingly, the plaintiff filed a claim for damages lawsuit against the client amounting to approximately 200 million won.

The plaintiff's arguments are as follows.

On the basis of the above arguments, the plaintiff argued that the client, as the business owner, failed to fulfill the duty of care under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, causing the accident, and was therefore liable for damages.

An industrial accident means a case in which a worker suffers an accident or illness during the performance of work or during acts incidental to it.

■Compensation under industrial accident insurance
-Paid by the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service
-Certain compensation is provided even without the employer's fault

■Civil damages
-A damages lawsuit (industrial accident damages) that a worker also files, asserting that the employer's fault was the cause of the accident

■Requirements for industrial accident damages
For a worker to receive industrial accident damages, the worker must prove the following elements.

-The employer's fault (violation of the duty of care)
-The fact that the industrial accident occurred
-The causal relationship between the industrial accident and the employer's fault
-The occurrence of harm

The issue in this industrial accident damages case was whether the industrial accident occurred due to the client's fault.

The plaintiff argues that the client, as the business owner, failed to properly inspect the machinery and did not fulfill the safety management duty.

The industrial accident specialist attorney emphasized that the client, as the business owner, fulfilled the safety management duty.

In fact, the press machine where the accident occurred undergoes regular inspection once a month.

The industrial accident specialist attorney argued that an inspection had also been conducted five days before the accident, and submitted the maintenance log and management records as evidence.

The inspection at that time showed that the main safety devices, such as the machine's safety sensor, operation stop device, and protective cover, were all operating normally.

The client conducts regular safety training each quarter for all workers.

The plaintiff also participated in the safety training conducted two weeks before the accident.

The main content of that training concerned precautions for press machine operation, and the training covered the requirement to always stop the press machine before operating it and an absolute prohibition on inserting one's hands.

In addition, a manual diagramming how to use the machine was posted at the work site, and the workplace safety rules were displayed near the workbench.

The industrial accident specialist attorney submitted as evidence the safety training attendance confirmation form bearing the plaintiff's own signature and emphasized that the client had not neglected the duty to provide safety training.

It was confirmed that, at the time of the accident, the plaintiff was performing the dangerous act of placing his hand under the press while the machine had not come to a complete stop, and suffered the accident as a result.

The industrial accident attorney submitted CCTV footage from inside the factory at the time of the accident as evidence.

The footage clearly captured the client, absorbed in conversation with a colleague, recklessly inserting his hand without checking whether the safety device was operating.

The industrial accident attorney submitted the CCTV footage containing objective evidence as evidence, emphasizing that this was not an industrial accident caused by the client's inadequate safety management.

An industrial accident damages lawsuit is a civil suit that determines whether the employer was at fault, and the legal issues are very complex.

In order to rebut the facts asserted by the worker, objective evidence and logical arguments are needed regarding matters such as the implementation of safety measures, whether training was provided, and the circumstances of the accident.

However, it is not easy for a layperson to prepare these systematically and to contest them effectively in court.

On the contrary, if a response is mishandled, there is a risk that liability for damages may be recognized even in the absence of fault.

Therefore, the assistance of an experienced attorney specializing in industrial accident damages may be crucial to protecting a company's interests.

At Daeryun Law Firm, experienced attorneys specializing in industrial accident damages lawsuits respond systematically across the entire process, from the early stage of the accident through securing evidence, organizing the facts, and reviewing the legal principles.

Industrial accident damages go beyond a simple 🔗lawsuit for damages and are a field that requires a strategic approach that understands the characteristics of business operations and on-site practice.

Through its Corporate Legal Group and its Labor and Industrial Accident Group, Daeryun Law Firm subdivides each field, and attorneys specializing in particular fields respond in coordination.

If you have been wrongfully drawn into a damages lawsuit due to an industrial accident, please respond by receiving an attorney referral from Daeryun Law Firm.