Court calls it illegal to deny survivor's pension due to 'underlying disease'

Died while receiving treatment for pneumoconiosis while working in a mine
The court said, “Deteriorating lung disease should be considered the cause of death.”

A court ruled that it was illegal to not pay survivors' pension to a worker who died from pneumoconiosis while working in a mine because of his underlying disease.

On the 21st of last month, the 13th Division of the Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Ms.

Mr. A's husband, Mr. B, worked as a laborer at a coal mine for about 7 years since 1982.

Afterwards, Mr. B was diagnosed with disability due to pneumoconiosis in 2002, and while receiving treatment, his condition worsened and he died in 2021.

The direct cause of death listed in the autopsy report was pneumoconiosis.

Accordingly, Mr. A filed a claim for survivors' benefits from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, claiming that Mr. B suffered from pneumoconiosis due to working at a coal mine and died as a result.

However, the corporation rejected this.

It was revealed that Mr. B was found dead at home, so the exact cause of death is unknown, and as he suffered from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, it is difficult to determine pneumoconiosis as the main cause of death.

Mr. A, who was dissatisfied with the decision, filed a request for review, but it was dismissed, and his subsequent request for reexamination was also dismissed for the same reason.

Accordingly, Mr. A filed an administrative lawsuit against the Corporation.

During the trial, Mr. A emphasized that the corporation overlooked the fact that Mr. B had suffered from lung disease for a long time and cited only the underlying disease as the cause of death.

The court ruled in Mr. A’s favor.

The court said, "The deceased appears to have received appropriate treatment for the underlying disease and lived without any significant aftereffects until his death. On the other hand, pneumoconiosis and cardiopulmonary function were gradually worsening, and after being first diagnosed with pneumoconiosis, he received repeated inpatient and outpatient treatment until just before death."

He added, "It appears that the deceased's underlying disease may have had a complex effect on his death, but there is no evidence to suggest that his health condition worsened due to this. Even though it is difficult to clearly determine the cause of death, it is reasonable to consider worsening lung disease such as pneumoconiosis as the cause of death."

Attorney Kim Jin-ju of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "The claim that the exact cause of death cannot be determined simply because the place of death was at home ignores all of Mr. B's medical records and the information objectively recorded in the autopsy report," adding, "Based on the medical records, etc., we were able to obtain the court's cancellation ruling by proving the medical causal relationship that the progressive worsening of pneumoconiosis and decreased respiratory function contributed to the death."

#court #judgment #survivor’s pension

Park Seok-ho (haitai2000@ikbc.co.kr)

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Court calls it illegal to deny survivor's pension due to 'underlying disease' (link)