Death While Driving Company Car Without License... Court Rules "Work-Related Injury"

A court has ruled that a work-related injury is recognized for a worker who died while performing duties using a company vehicle without a license.

According to the legal community on the 29th, the Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 13 (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-dae) recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the family of the deceased Mr. A against the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, seeking cancellation of the denial of survivor’s benefits and funeral expenses.

In 2021, Mr. A died after falling into a drainage basin while driving a company vehicle on an unopened road at a construction site in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, during early morning hours to transport soil. Although Mr. A held a Class 1 large vehicle driver’s license, it had been revoked due to drunk driving.

In April 2022, Mr. A’s family filed a claim for survivor’s benefits with the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, but the Service denied the claim, stating, “Mr. A was driving a vehicle without a license at the time of the accident, violating the Road Traffic Act and other laws, causing the accident through gross negligence.” Under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, accidents caused by a worker’s criminal acts are not considered work-related injuries. The family filed an administrative lawsuit in response.

The court ruled in favor of Mr. A’s family. The court stated, “Regardless of whether he held a driver’s license, it should be considered that Mr. A had the actual ability to operate the vehicle,” and “The unlicensed driving was not the direct cause of the accident.”

The court pointed out, “The accident site was an unopened road without streetlights, the road surface was wet and very slippery, and there were no safety facilities such as lighting,” and questioned whether the accident could be entirely attributed to Mr. A’s work-related negligence.

Furthermore, the court recognized it as a ‘work-related injury,’ stating, “If there was even a slight neglect of the duty of care regarding safety, combined with road conditions and traffic situations, the typical inherent risk of the work itself could materialize at any time.”