Occupational Safety and Health Act Violation Case | A Fire Accident at a Construction Site, Client Acquitted

While the client was carrying out an apartment new-construction project, a fire broke out during welding work by a worker of the subcontractor A Company, causing significant damage.

As a result, several workers at the site were injured and part of the construction site was damaged, resulting in property losses amounting to tens of billions of won.

The client, as the contractor, along with the site managers, was indicted on charges of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act and occupational negligence causing injury, and thus faced the question of legal liability.

In this case, the legal liability under the Occupational Safety and Health Act was at issue, and it was important to determine whether the workers of A Company could be held responsible for causing the accident by violating safety procedures.

To obtain professional and systematic assistance, the client sought out a specialized attorney at Daeryun Law Firm with extensive experience in cases of this kind.

If a business owner violates the Occupational Safety and Health Act or causes an accident through carelessness, the owner may be punished for occupational negligence causing injury.

Occupational negligence causing injury refers to inflicting injury on another person by failing to fulfill a duty of care during the course of one's work, and a person bears responsibility for accidents caused by mistakes or carelessness in performing that work.

Under the Criminal Act, a person who injures another through occupational negligence or gross negligence may be subject to criminal punishment.

▶ Article 268 of the Criminal Act

This case involved a fire that broke out during welding work, and it is also related to the Rules on Occupational Safety and Health Standards.

▶ Article 241 of the Occupational Safety and Health Rules (Matters to Be Observed during Fire-Risk Work)

The attorneys at Daeryun thoroughly examined whether the safety and health management system established by the client had actually been implemented at the worksite.

To this end, they analyzed in detail the safety training materials, work guidelines, inspection records, and other documents provided by the client, and confirmed whether the relevant documents had been prepared systematically and whether the on-site managers had thoroughly carried them out.

Through the evidence secured in this process, the client was able to demonstrate that the safety and health management system had been properly established.

One of the central issues in this case was that the workers of Company A had proceeded with the work while disregarding the established safety procedures.

The attorney at Daeryun analyzed the work records of Company A's workers and, through testimony at the site, established that the workers of Company A had violated the safety procedures and carried out the welding work at their own discretion.

Through this, it was possible to prove that the main cause of the accident lay in the violation of regulations by Company A's worker.

The Daeryun attorney verified whether the client had taken appropriate measures to prevent fire.

The client sought to demonstrate that, through the fire prevention training conducted on site, the equipment inspection records, the guidance of the safety manager, and similar measures, every step had been taken to minimize the possibility of a fire.

Through this, the client sought to make clear that the cause of the accident lay not in the client's negligence but in the unlawful conduct of Company A's workers.

In cases involving violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the most important issue is the cause of the accident and who bears responsibility for it.

Because the responsibility of the contractor, the subcontractor, the site manager, and others may differ, a close analysis of the cause of the accident is necessary.

Daeryun LLC includes many attorneys who have experience advising large corporations on the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, as well as attorneys with experience as judges and prosecutors dedicated to corporate litigation and labor cases.

Through specialized knowledge and a systematic analysis of the case, we work to clarify the precise circumstances and responsibility for the matter and to pursue a favorable outcome in court.

If you are involved in a violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act or occupational negligence causing injury and face the risk of punishment, please feel free to request assistance at any time through a 🔗legal consultation reservation.