Death Following Worsened Pneumoconiosis from Coal Mine... Court Rules "Work-Related Accident"

Anxiety and Depression Worsened During Long-Term Care for Coal Mine Worker

"Substantial Causal Relationship Recognized Between Pneumoconiosis and Death"

If a worker who developed pneumoconiosis while working in a coal mine died after mental illnesses such as depression significantly worsened due to aggravated symptoms, a court has ruled that this can be regarded as a work-related accident.

On the 28th, according to the legal community, the Seoul Administrative Court’s Administrative Division 10 (Chief Judge Jeong Eunyoung) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the child of pneumoconiosis patient A against the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, seeking to cancel the denial of the survivors’ pension and funeral expense benefits for pneumoconiosis. The court ordered the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service to overturn the denial issued in March 2024.

A, who worked as a miner in a coal mine, was diagnosed with pneumoconiosis in 1986 and spent many years receiving treatment before passing away in a hospital in October 2023. A’s children claimed the survivors’ pension and funeral expenses from the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, but the agency rejected the request, stating that a substantial causal relationship between the pneumoconiosis and death could not be recognized. After both the initial and subsequent appeals were denied, the family filed a lawsuit.

The court acknowledged a substantial causal link between A’s death and the occupational disease. The court stated, “It is reasonable to infer that A, due to the aggravation of mental illnesses such as depression that arose from the work-related disease of pneumoconiosis, experienced a loss or severe decline in mental restraint, reaching a point where rational judgment was no longer possible, which led to an extreme choice.”

The court found that as A’s pneumoconiosis and associated complications worsened, A’s anxiety and depressive symptoms also intensified. About a year prior to death, A’s lung function rapidly declined and he repeatedly complained of shortness of breath. The court noted, “Shortness of breath is one of the factors that increases anxiety and fear,” adding, “It appears that the pneumoconiosis and complications such as pneumothorax aggravated existing mental illnesses.”

A's nursing records were also taken into consideration. The records showed that in August 2023, A complained, “I am very worried and anxious,” and prior to death stated, “I feel breathless even at rest, I feel more breathless when I move, and I am so exhausted that daily life is very difficult,” and “I can’t do anything by myself.” A had been diagnosed with anxiety disorder and sleep disorder and received treatment for the same symptoms on 17 occasions, as well as 32 medical consultations after a diagnosis of mild depressive episode. The court concluded, based on this treatment history and the progression of complications such as pneumoconiosis and pneumothorax, that A’s symptoms of anxiety and depression had indeed worsened.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.