Although it does not meet the work-related injury identification conditions of "working hours and workplaces", before the incident, "working around the clock and working nearly 130 hours of overtime" has become the basis for the company to be held accountable - the unit who died suddenly on the way from get off work was sentenced to be responsible for illegal employment. 30%
Our reporter Wang Wei Our correspondent Zhu Yuting Gu Lin
reading tips
The company arranges employees to work overtime for a long time in a high temperature environment, and fails to exercise reasonable duty of care for employees who may have underlying diseases.
After the first instance and second instance of administrative litigation and civil litigation, the court held that although the case did not meet the conditions for identification of work-related injuries, there was a causal relationship between the company's illegal employment behavior and the death of the employee, and ruled that the company should bear 30% of the compensation liability.
On a midsummer night, the employee died suddenly after falling to the ground with a sudden coronary heart disease on the way to get off work.
The family lost the administrative lawsuit requesting confirmation of the work-related injury because they did not meet the conditions for the identification of the work-related injury.
At the same time, behind the accident, the details of the company's employment management were drawn: one month before the accident, the employee worked in a high temperature environment all month long and worked nearly 130 hours of overtime, far exceeding the overtime stipulated by the labor law. The time limit is limited; and the employee medical report received by the company has shown that there are project abnormalities.
Under the circumstance that the work-related injury is difficult to obtain, is the enterprise responsible for the sudden death of the employee?
Recently, this right-to-life dispute was finally settled in the Intermediate People's Court of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. The court ruled that the company should be liable for 30% of the losses caused by the death of the employees, totaling more than 360,000 yuan.
Midsummer is open all month, and the employee dies on the way from get off work
Kang Mou Company is a private enterprise engaged in the production of environmentally friendly decorative materials in Nantong City.
Zhu Bin (pseudonym) is an employee of the company's paint shop.
At 20:3 on August 1, 2019, Zhu Bin fell down shortly after driving an electric bicycle out of the company's door after get off work.
At 4:56 the next day, Zhu Bin was found 300 meters away from the north gate of the company, and 120 staff confirmed his death on the spot.
Throughout July of that year, Nantong had eight days with the highest temperature exceeding 35°C.
In order to catch up with orders, the workers of a company in Kang worked continuously throughout the month, often working overtime until eight or nine o'clock in the evening.
The physical evidence appraisal office of the public security organ issued an appraisal opinion on the cause of Zhu Bin's death as "death due to acute coronary heart disease", and stated that "the work and fatigue during his lifetime may be the inducement of his acute coronary heart disease."
After Zhu Bin's death, Kang Company paid Zhu Bin's father and daughter 37,000 yuan.
Work-related injury determination failed, family members sued the company for infringement
In December 2019, Zhu Bin's father and daughter filed an application for work-related injury identification with the local Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.
The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau believes that Zhu Bin's death due to acute coronary heart disease was not caused by a traffic accident for which he was primarily responsible.
On the day of the incident, there was no abnormality when Zhu Bin drove an electric bicycle to leave the company. His sudden illness was not during working hours and at his job position, so it was not a work-related injury identified by the Regulations on Work-related Injury Insurance, and it was decided not to identify a work-related injury.
This made Zhu Bin's father and daughter unacceptable, and the two filed an administrative lawsuit with the court, which was dismissed.
The court held that Zhu Bin normally went to work in a company in Kang, completed his work tasks normally, and did not perform abnormally during the work period, nor did he have a sudden illness at work. Zhu Bin’s father and daughter stated that Zhu Bin had developed a physical condition at work. Symptoms such as discomfort and vomiting were not supported by any evidence.
Zhu Bin's situation did not meet the situation of "working hours, sudden illness in the workplace".
Work-related injuries are difficult to identify, so is Kang Company responsible for Zhu Bin's death?
After the administrative lawsuit was defeated, in 2021, Zhu Bin's father and daughter brought a lawsuit against Kang Company to the court for infringement.
Zhu Bin's father and daughter submitted a handwritten record of Zhu Bin's working hours in July 2019.
The record shows that in July that year, Zhu Bin went to work every day in the company, all month long, and 21 of them worked overtime until eight or nine o'clock in the evening.
In this regard, Kang Mou Company did not deny it, but submitted Zhu Bin's occupational health examination form issued by a local hospital on April 23, 2019, which stated that Zhu Bin was not found to suffer from occupational contraindications or suspected occupational diseases.
However, the table shows that the electrocardiogram, biochemical test and other items are abnormal, and it is recommended to check regularly or go to the outpatient clinic of a comprehensive medical institution for review.
A company in Kang believes that the physical examination report reflects that Zhu Bin has underlying diseases.
From the perspective of Zhu Bin's father and daughter, the company did not notify Zhu Bin in time after obtaining the medical report, and only verbally informed him that there was no problem with his health. The company's actions were at fault.
Determine the causal relationship and determine the proportion of the company's compensation
The court of first instance held that Zhu Bin's father and daughter demanded Kang Company to bear the liability for compensation based on the legal relationship of tort, and should bear the burden of proof for Kang Company's fault, injurious behavior, and the causal relationship between the infringing behavior and the damage result.
Because Zhu Bin's father and daughter failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Kang's company had infringed on him, the court ruled to dismiss his claim.
The Zhu family disagreed and filed an appeal.
In the second instance, the Nantong Intermediate Court held that Zhu Bin had worked nearly 130 hours of overtime a month before the accident, far exceeding the overtime limit stipulated by the labor law. The protective law stipulates; Kang company arranges Zhu Bin to work overtime in the paint shop for a long time under high temperature, which will obviously cause serious risks to his health. It was determined that the illegal employment behavior of a company in Kang significantly increased Zhu Bin's risk of acute coronary heart disease.
According to the relevant judicial interpretations, it should be determined that there is a legal causal relationship between Kang's illegal employment and Zhu Bin's death.
The court also held that Kang Company should have foreseen the possible damage consequences of illegal employment, and even knowing that Zhu Bin may have underlying diseases, still arranged for Zhu Bin to work overtime under high temperature for a long time. The right to health fails to exercise the duty of reasonable care and is at fault for the occurrence of the corresponding damage consequences.
Therefore, the court of second instance held that although the case did not meet the conditions for identifying work-related injuries such as "working hours and sudden illnesses in the workplace", Kang Company should be liable for tort compensation for Zhu Bin's damages in accordance with the law.
In the end, the Nantong Intermediate People's Court determined, as appropriate, that Kang Company was liable for 30% of the losses caused by Zhu Bin's death, and sentenced Kang Company to compensate Zhu Bin's father and daughter more than 360,000 yuan.
A high probability standard of proof should be used to determine causality
The facts of the case determined in the first and second instance of this case are basically the same, why are the judgments so different?
The judge of the second instance of the case introduced that this is mainly due to the different grasp and understanding of the standard of proof of causality between the first and second instance.
In this case, the proof standard of the causality requirement in the first instance was to be “reliable and sufficient”. Therefore, it was determined that Zhu Bin’s father and daughter failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that Kang’s company constituted infringement, and the claim was dismissed; The proof standard of the evidence provided by the two people is "high probability", and they believe that the existing evidence can confirm that there is a causal relationship between the relevant illegal behavior of Kang company's employment and Zhu Bin's death due to acute coronary heart disease. High possibility, thus partially supporting the claims of Zhu Bin's father and daughter.
In recent years, news of sudden death due to overtime work is common, which has aroused social concern and discussion on the protection of laborers' legitimate rights and interests.
"The sudden death of an employee after get off work does not constitute a work-related injury. Whether the company needs to be liable for compensation, the second-instance judgment of this case gives a clear answer and also reflects two major value orientations," said Chu Min, a professor at the Law School of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics.
Chu Min further explained that, first of all, treating and caring for employees is the proper meaning of inheriting the traditional culture of the Chinese nation, and it is also an inevitable requirement to carry forward the entrepreneurial spirit in the new era and perform social responsibilities.
Enterprises should strictly implement labor security laws and regulations, protect the basic rights and interests of employees, promote decent work and happy life for employees, and enhance employees' sense of acquisition, identity, and belonging.
In addition, workers should pay attention to their own bodies. "Struggle is not hard work, and hard work should not be overworked."