Even if a person died in a traffic accident on the way to work, a ruling was made that if the accident was caused by violating a signal, it cannot be recognized as an occupational accident.



The 7th administrative division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Chief Judge Jeong Sang-gyu) recently ruled that the plaintiff lost a lawsuit filed by the family of the deceased against the Korea Labor Welfare Service, saying, "Cancel the disposition for not paying the survivors' benefits and funeral expenses."



In May 2020, while driving a motorcycle to work, Mr. A crossed an intersection violating a stop sign and collided with a car.



It appears that the other vehicle was driving with a green signal.



In this accident, Mr. A was taken to the hospital for treatment, but died of cerebral hemorrhage 5 days later.



The family claimed that Mr. A's death was a work-related accident and claimed the bereaved family's benefits and funeral expenses, but when they were rejected, they filed an administrative lawsuit against the Korea Labor Welfare Service.



In the trial, the family argued that Mr. A should be regarded as an industrial accident, stating that although Mr. A violated the signal, it cannot be regarded as gross negligence, and that the driver of the other vehicle was also at fault for violating the duty to keep an eye on the front and the speed limit.



However, the court said, "It is reasonable to assume that the accident occurred mainly due to illegal acts such as signal violation of the deceased person."



The Industrial Accident Insurance Act stipulates that intentional, self-harm or crime of workers, or injuries, disease, disability, or death resulting from such injury, are not recognized as occupational accidents.



However, in cases where an injury, disease, disability, or death occurred as a result of an act performed while the normal cognitive ability was clearly lowered, an occupational accident may be recognized as an exception.



The court said, "Cars waiting for a signal in the lane next to Mr. A's traffic did not move until Mr. A entered the intersection and a traffic accident occurred." "There is a possibility that it may be considered that you have entered the intersection by violating the signal even if you know that there is."



He added, "It is not easy to see that the deceased simply entered an intersection by violating a traffic signal due to a momentary loss of concentration or a mistake in judgment."



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