The bereaved family of a teacher who collapsed and died while playing badminton lost a lawsuit seeking payment of bereaved benefits. The court judged that it was difficult to recognize a connection between the disease of Mr. A, who died from subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke, and the work environment or official stress.
Seoul Administrative Court, Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. News 1
According to the legal community on the 12th, on the 6th, the 13th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Chief Jin Hyeon-seop) ruled that the plaintiff lost in the lawsuit filed by Mr. The purpose is that the Ministry of Personnel Management’s decision to disapprove compensation for survivors of those killed in the line of duty is reasonable.
Mr. A suddenly collapsed while playing badminton with acquaintances near his home during a training period under the Education Public Officials Act in February 2023 and was taken to the hospital. He later died of subarachnoid hemorrhage in the hospital. Mr. A’s bereaved family claimed that the accident occurred while on the job and requested payment of bereaved family benefits, but the Ministry of Personnel Management disapproved this, leading to a lawsuit.
The bereaved family claims that when Mr. A worked at his previous school, he suffered extreme stress after an incident occurred where the school principal illegally installed a camera in the female faculty member’s restroom. Subarachnoid hemorrhage is a type of stroke whose main cause is a ruptured brain aneurysm, and accumulated stress is said to have had an effect.
“No overtime, underlying disease of high blood pressure”
However, the court ruled, “It is insufficient to say that a causal relationship is recognized between subarachnoid hemorrhage and public affairs.” First, Mr. A’s work history was cited as the reason. There was no overtime work at all for 6 months before his death, and he was not working for a month during winter vacation in early 2023 and was undergoing training after working for a week, so it is difficult to say that he suffered from excessive work.
In addition, Mr. A’s underlying disease and the fact that he was playing badminton were also reflected. The court explained, “Mr. A was 57 years old at the time and appears to have suffered from an underlying condition of high blood pressure. Considering the situation in which he was playing badminton, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that the blood pressure rose due to intense physical activity and the existing cerebral aneurysm ruptured.”
