Worksite fall: employer's breach of safety duty recognized

Background

Placed by a staffing office, our client worked as a day laborer dismantling concrete formwork at a company's civil engineering site. While standing on a folding ladder to remove upper formwork, the ladder's joint broke and he fell to the ground, suffering serious injuries. He received medical, temporary disability and permanent disability benefits from industrial accident insurance, and then sued the company for the losses those benefits did not cover.

The issue

Because he had come through a staffing office, the first question was whether he could be treated as the company's worker at all. The further issues were whether the company breached its duty to look after workers' safety, how much weight to give the client's own carelessness (comparative negligence), and how to deduct the insurance benefits he had already received.

Our approach

We argued on the client's behalf that the accident happened because the company failed in its duty to provide a safe working environment and take necessary safety measures. We also pointed out that the client worked under the direction and supervision of company staff on site, and that the company had been listed as his workplace when the industrial accident claim was processed. The company countered that the client also bore responsibility for not taking care of his own safety.

The court's reasoning

Applying the principle that employer liability can arise without a formal employment contract where a person actually works under another's direction and supervision, the court recognized the client as the company's day laborer, noting among other things that he had no employment contract with the staffing office and worked under company staff. It found the company should have provided protective gear and safety training, a securely fixed ladder, and fall-prevention measures such as a helper to hold the ladder or a safety harness, but did not. Since the client also knew the risks of ladder work and should have checked the ladder and asked for safety measures, the court limited the company's liability to 60%. It deducted the permanent disability benefit from lost future income before applying that percentage, the "deduct first, then apply comparative negligence" method set by an en banc Supreme Court ruling.

Outcome

Adding KRW 25 million in compensation for emotional distress to the financial loss, the court ordered the company to pay the client about KRW 62 million plus late-payment interest from the date of the accident. Part of the amount claimed was awarded, and costs were split 20% to the client and 80% to the company.

What this case means

Even a day laborer sent through a staffing office can hold the company liable for safety if he actually worked under its direction and supervision on site. Losses not covered by industrial accident insurance, as well as compensation for emotional distress, can be claimed separately from the employer.

This is the outcome of an individual case and does not guarantee the same result in similar matters. Some facts have been generalized to protect the parties involved.