First Case Under Revised Fetal Industrial Accident Law
Baby Diagnosed with Brain Malformation...Substantial Related Evidence
The diagnosis of brain malformation in the baby of a nurse exposed to hazardous environments during pregnancy was recognized as an industrial accident for the first time since the implementation of the Fetal Industrial Accident Compensation Act.
According to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (KCOMWEL) on the 20th, the service recognized the case of nurse A, who applied for industrial accident compensation last month for her child's congenital brain malformation, as a work-related injury.
The Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, commissioned by KCOMWEL, judged that "there is substantial scientific evidence regarding the work-relatedness of the worker's child's illness."
This is the first case of fetal industrial accident recognized under the amended Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (Fetal Industrial Accident Compensation Act) enforced since last year. Including four nurses who were recognized for industrial accidents following a 2020 Supreme Court ruling, this is officially the fifth fetal industrial accident case.
According to the report from the Epidemiological Investigation and Evaluation Committee of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, nurse A worked in an artificial heart room at a hospital for about six months immediately after becoming pregnant with her second child in 2013, where she was responsible for mixing dialysis fluid. The acetic acid smell was so strong every time she mixed it that it was difficult to breathe.
Due to hospital budget issues, the system changed from using ready-made products to mixing the solution directly, and nurse A was in charge of this task. She continued this work until the hospital closed, and three months after, her second child was diagnosed with anencephaly at a university hospital.
Anencephaly is a congenital malformation characterized by a defect in the brain gyri, which are the folds of the brain cortex. Nurse A's child was diagnosed with first-degree brain lesion disability in 2015 and with quadriplegia in 2017.
The Epidemiological Investigation and Evaluation Committee explained, "Considering cases where patients inhaled acetic acid vapor into the air, resulting in acute lung injury or chemical pneumonia and hypoxia requiring emergency room admission, it is likely that the worker experienced repeated lung injury and hypoxia during pregnancy." They added, "Hypoxia is a well-known factor causing brain-related malformations. The worker performed this task during the first trimester of pregnancy, which is a particularly vulnerable period for brain malformation."
Meanwhile, regarding the cases of three children of semiconductor factory workers at Samsung Electronics who also applied for fetal industrial accident compensation, the conclusion was that there was insufficient scientific evidence. Based on these results, KCOMWEL will decide on the final approval of industrial accident compensation through the Work-Related Disease Judgment Committee.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
