Workbear재주넘는곰
대법원 88누10947

Revocation of Non-Approval of Medical Care Benefits (요양불승인처분취소)요양불승인처분취소

Decided1989. 07. 25. Court대법원Worker won
AI-generated English translation (summary, key points, decision summary and full text) for reference only — not an official translation and without legal effect. The Korean original below is authoritative.
AI Easy read — AI summary of this decision
AI-generated summary for reference only — the Korean original below is authoritative.

A bus driver suffered hearing impairment after being exposed to the loud, high-powered horn of a dump truck while working. The Supreme Court held that to recognize an injury as a work-related accident (업무상 재해), there must be a causal link between the work and the injury, and the burden of proof for establishing this causal link lies with the party asserting it. Although the lower court had misapplied the burden of proof, the Supreme Court found that the causal relationship was in fact established on the facts, ruling in favor of the worker.

Key takeaways
  • CaseA bus driver suffered sudden hearing loss after exposure to an extremely loud truck horn during work.
  • OutcomeThe Supreme Court ruled that although the burden of proof was misapplied below, the facts showed a clear causal link between the work incident and the injury, so the worker's claim for medical care benefits was upheld.
  • LessonWorkers claiming work-related injury compensation must prove a causal connection between their duties and the harm suffered, but sudden and clearly work-triggered injuries can meet this standard even with strict proof requirements.
Issues
  • Whether a causal relationship between work duties and injury is required to establish a work-related accident (업무상 재해)
  • Which party bears the burden of proof in establishing a work-related accident
Key reasoning

Under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (산업재해보상보험법), a work-related accident requires proof of a causal relationship between the employee's work duties and the resulting injury. The burden of proving this causal link rests with the party claiming that the injury is work-related, typically the worker. In this case, the sudden onset of hearing loss immediately following an unexpected and traumatic noise exposure from the truck horn supported a finding of causation. Even though the lower court had incorrectly allocated the burden of proof, the Supreme Court found that the factual circumstances—an abrupt, traumatic acoustic event followed by sudden hearing impairment—sufficiently established the necessary causal link between the work and the injury.

Summary of Decision (English, AI translation)

Under Article 3(1) of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (산업재해보상보험법), a work-related accident refers to an accident that occurs to a worker in the course of performing his or her duties and that is attributable to those duties, and therefore there must be a causal relationship between the duties and the accident; in such a case, the causal relationship between the worker's duties and the accident must be proven by the party asserting it.

Full text (English, AI translation) 4,370 chars

[Plaintiff, Appellee]

[Defendant, Appellant] Head of Busan Dongnae District Labor Office
[Judgment Below] Busan High Court Decision 88Gu612, decided October 14, 1988

[Order]

The appeal is dismissed.
The costs of the appeal are to be borne by the Defendant.

[Reasoning]

We examine the grounds of appeal submitted by the Defendant's litigation representative.

1. In its reasoning, the court below found the following facts: the Plaintiff had worked as a driver for Haedong Passenger Bus Co., Ltd. (해동여객자동차주식회사) since around June 1979; on May 24, 1987, while driving the company's bus past a road next to Suyeong Airfield in Haeundae-gu, Busan, a 15-ton dump truck suddenly overtook the bus at excessive speed, passing very close alongside it while blasting a high-powered horn, causing the Plaintiff to suffer a hearing impairment; as a result, the Plaintiff's left ear became totally deaf due to sensorineural hearing loss, and the right ear became fixed in a state of moderately severe sudden hearing loss; that such sensorineural hearing loss is a hearing impairment arising from disorders of the inner ear and the auditory nerve itself while the sound-conducting apparatus remains intact, and that sudden hearing loss is a condition in which a person who was previously healthy and asymptomatic develops sensorineural hearing loss within several hours or days, sometimes accompanied by tinnitus and dizziness, both conditions being characterized by the fact that no clear cause can typically be found, although noise or acoustic trauma can be one of the causes of such hearing loss symptoms; and that the Plaintiff underwent annual health examinations since joining the company, and although the health examination conducted on September 21, 1981 revealed symptoms of hearing loss in the left ear, all health examinations conducted in the years before and after that were judged to show normal hearing. Upon examining the process by which the court below selected and weighed the evidence in arriving at the above findings, in light of the record, we find it to be proper, and there is no violation of the rules of evidence as alleged in the grounds of appeal.

2.
An "occupational accident" under Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (산업재해보상보험법) refers to an accident that occurs to a worker in the course of performing his duties and that arises from those duties; therefore, there must be a causal relationship between the duties and the accident, and in such a case, the burden of proving the causal relationship between the worker's duties and the accident lies with the party asserting it.

The court below erred in stating, in effect, that if a worker's accident occurred in the course of performing his duties, it should be deemed an occupational accident unless it can be found that there is no causal relationship with the duties, thereby implying that the burden of proof lies with the Defendant. However, in light of the record and the facts as determined by the court below, the Plaintiff had performed driving duties for several years without any abnormality, and it was only after suddenly being subjected to the sudden traumatic noise impact described above on May 24, 1987 that the Plaintiff began to exhibit severe symptoms of hearing loss. In view of this, it cannot be said that it is improper to infer that the Plaintiff's illness in this case was caused by the sudden noise described above. Therefore, the above error of the court below did not affect the outcome of the judgment, and this ground of appeal is without merit.

Furthermore, the court below's determination that Article 54, Item 12 of the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법시행령) merely provides illustrative examples of occupational diseases, and its recognition that the Plaintiff's illness in this case constitutes an occupational accident under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, is proper, and there is no error of misapprehension of law as alleged in the grounds of appeal. This ground of appeal is without merit.

3. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed, and the costs of the appeal are to be borne by the losing party. This judgment is rendered as stated in the Order by the unanimous opinion of the participating Justices.

Justice Yoon Kwan (Presiding Justice), Kim Deok-ju, Bae Man-un, Ahn U-man

【판결요지】

산업재해보상보험법 제3조 제1항 소정의 업무상의 재해라 함은 근로자가 업무수행 중 그 업무에 기인하여 발생한 재해를 말하므로 업무와 재해 사이에 인과관계가 있어야 하고, 이 경우 근로자의 업무와 재해간의 인과관계에 관하여는 이를 주장하는 측에서 입증하여야 한다.

【참조조문】

산업재해보상보험법 제3조 제1항, 민사소송법 제261조

【주문】·【이유】 전문 1,599자 · 펼쳐 보기

【원고, 피상고인】

【피고, 상고인】 부산동래지방노동사무소장

【원심판결】 부산고등법원 1988.10.14. 선고 88구612 판결

【주 문】

상고를 기각한다.

상고비용은 피고의 부담으로 한다.

【이 유】 피고 소송수행자의 상고이유를 본다.

1. 원심판결은 그 이유에서 원고는 1979.6.경부터 소외 해동여객자동차주식회사의 운전사로 근무하였는데 1987.5.24. 위 회사의 버스를 운전하여 부산 해운대구 소재 수영비행장 옆 도로를 지나다가 갑자기 15톤 덤프트럭 1대가 과속으로 그 옆을 바짝 붙어 추월하면서 고성능 경음기로 경적을 울리는 바람에 청력장해를 일으켜 결국 왼쪽 귀는 감각신경성 난청으로 이미 전농의 상태에 빠졌고 오른쪽 귀는 중등 고도의 돌발성 난청의 상태로 고정화된 사실, 위와 같은 감각신경성 난청은 전음기관은 건전하나 내이 및 청신경 자체의 장애로 발생하는 청력장해이고 돌발성 난청은 과거 아무런 증세없이 건강하던 사람이 수시간 또는 수일내에 감음신경성 난청이 발생하고 때로는 이명과 현기증을 동반하는 질환으로 모두 뚜렷한 원인을 발견할 수 없는 것이 특징으로 이러한 난청증세에는 소음이나 소음성 외상도 그 발병원인의 하나가 될 수 있는 사실, 원고는 입사이래 매년 건강진단을 받아왔는데 1981.9.21.건강진단에는 왼쪽귀의 난청증세가 발견되었을 뿐 그 전후 연도의 건강진단에서는 모두 정상 청력으로 판단된 사실을 인정하고 있는 바, 원심이 위 사실을 인정함에 있어 거친 증거의 취사과정을 기록에 비추어 살펴보아도 정당하고 거기에 논지가 지적하는 바와 같은 채증법칙위반의 위법이 없다.

2. 산업재해보상보험법 제3조 제1항 소정의 업무상의 재해라 함은 근로자가 업무수행중 그 업무에 기인하여 발생한 재해를 말하는 것이므로 업무와 재해 사이에 인과관계가 있어야 하고, 이 경우 근로자의 업an와 재해간의 인과관계에 관하여는 이를 주장하는 거증자측에서 입증하여야 할 것 인 바, 원심이 근로자의 재해가 그 업무수행중에 발생하였다면 그것이 업무에 의한 것 즉 인과관계가 없다고 인정할 수 있는 경우가 아니라면 업무상 재해라고 봄이 상당하다고 판시하여 그 입증책임이 피고측에 있는 것처럼 설시하고 있음은 잘못이라 하겠으나 기록과 원심이 확정한 사실관계에 비추어 보면 원고는 수년동안 아무런 이상없이 운전업무를 수행하여 오던중 1987.5.24. 위와 같은 돌발적인 외상성 소음의 cnd격을 받은 뒤부터 갑자기 심한 난청증세를 보이기 시작한 점에 미루어 볼 때 원고의 이 사건 질병은 위 돌발적인 소음으로 인한 것이었다고 추단하지 못할 바 아니므로 원심의 위와 같은 잘못은 판결결과에는 아무런 영향을 미치지 아니한다 할 것이므로 논지는 이유없다.

그리고 원심이 근로기준법시행령 제54조 제12호는 업무상 질병을 예시한 것으로 보고 원고의 이 사건 질병을 산업재해보상보험법상의 업무상 재해에 해당한다고 인정한 것은 정당하고 거기에 소론과 같은 법리오해의 위법이 없다. 논지는 이유없다.

3. 그러므로 상고를 기각하고, 상고비용은 패소자의 부담으로 하기로 하여 관여 법관의 일치된 의견으로 주문과 같이 판결한다.

대법관 윤관(재판장) 김덕주 배만운 안우만

Related statutes

Similar cases

Cases with high content similarity to this one.

#1
2010구단18997 · 서울행정법원 0001-01-01
Revocation of Disposition Denying Medical Care Benefits
#2
2015구단76 · 광주지방법원 0001-01-01
Revocation of Disposition Denying Medical Care Benefits
#3
2021구단57998 · 서울행정법원 0001-01-01
Revocation of Disposition Denying Medical Care Benefits
#4
2013구단13467 · 서울행정법원 0001-01-01
Revocation of Disposition Denying Medical Care Benefits
#5
2015구단50996 · 서울행정법원 0001-01-01
Revocation of Disposition Denying Medical Care Benefits

Cases citing this decision

2003두12530 · 대법원 2004-04-09
Revocation of Non-Approval of Medical Care Benefits (요양불승인처분
99두11424 · 대법원 2000-05-12
Revocation of Disapproval of Medical Care (Workers' Compensa
98구7953 · 서울행법 2000-05-10
부동산실명법
99두10438 · 대법원 2000-01-28
Revocation of Disposition Denying Survivor Benefits, etc. (유
99두10360 · 대법원 1999-12-10
Action to Revoke Disapproval of Medical Care Benefits (요양불승인

Related tools & guides

AI answers need an account (free accounts: 2 per month) — submit and you'll return to this question after logging in. Search and case reading stay free.

Cross-check the original: 국가법령정보센터 (auxiliary link)