Cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease and death from overwork
Cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, or heart attack? Find out if overwork makes it a workers' comp case.
If cerebrovascular or cardiovascular disease developed after exposure to aggravating work factors such as long hours, night work, or rotating shifts, it can be recognized as a work-related illness.
What are cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease and death from overwork?
Cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases affect the blood vessels of the brain or heart, such as cerebral infarction (ischemic stroke), cerebral hemorrhage, and heart attack. If work strain caused the disease, or made a preexisting disease worse faster than its natural course, it can be recognized as work-related. Death from overwork means a death related to overwork. In a workers' comp claim, you need to prove the disease that actually caused the death and the work strain before it began.
What we check for each condition
The diagnosis and when symptoms started are key to the workers' comp decision.
Cerebral infarction (ischemic stroke), cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage
Check the timing and test results
When symptoms first appeared and the test results
Identify the cause: illness or trauma
Distinguish a collapse caused by illness from bleeding caused by a fall or impact
Heart attack, angina, and similar conditions
Check the circumstances at onset
Symptoms at onset and cardiac test results
Identify the underlying disease
Identify the underlying disease when arrhythmia or heart failure is diagnosed
Aortic dissection and similar conditions
Evidence for the diagnosis
Imaging results and surgical findings
Check work-related triggers
Heavy lifting or sudden changes in working conditions immediately before onset
Overwork criteria
Criteria for recognizing cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease and death from overwork
We look into any sudden event within 24 hours before onset, work hours over the past 4 weeks, and work hours and workload over the past 12 weeks.
Sudden event
Within 24 hours before onset
We check for any event at work that caused shock, tension, agitation, or fear, or any sudden change in the work environment. Even beyond 24 hours, it can be recognized if the work-related link continues.
Short-term increase in work
More work or longer hours in the 1 week before onset
- Check whether it rose 30% or more above the weekly average of the previous 12 weeks
- Leave the last 1 week before onset out of the comparison period
- Also check for sudden changes in work intensity, responsibility, or environment
Long-term work strain
52 hours or less
We check for a combination of night or shift work, too few days off, physical demands, and mental stress.
More than 52 hours per week on average
We assess working hours together with factors that increase the workload.
More than 60 hours per week over 12 weeks, or 64 hours per week over 4 weeks
The relationship between the work and the illness is assessed as strong.
We don't decide approval or denial based on any single part of your work before onset. We also look at the added weight given to night work hours, whether you actually got breaks, and whether on-call time counts as work hours.
Evidence of overwork
We gather evidence to prove actual work hours missing from the timesheets.
If what the company submitted differs from your actual hours, we explain why and submit records that back it up.
Onset
119 (Korea's emergency number) dispatch records · ER records · Messages reporting first symptoms · Witness statements
Actual work hours
Building entry and computer use logs · Work messages and calls · Driving and work logs · Timesheets
Increased workload
Staff shortages · Higher production · Deadlines · Changes in duties and responsibilities
Rest and work environment
Night and shift work · Days off · On-call time · Heat, cold, and other working conditions
Sobaek's practice areas
From proving overwork to filing your claim and challenging a denial, we handle it.
- STEP 01
Confirm how it happened and your work hours
We compare timesheets before onset with actual work records to calculate your work hours. We lay out changes in workload and overwork factors like night and shift work in detail.
- STEP 02
Claim filing and KCOMWEL investigation
We represent you in claims for medical care benefits or survivors' benefits. We gather the records needed and explain your actual work hours and overwork factors during the KCOMWEL investigation and the Occupational Disease Adjudication Committee review. When needed, we visit the site to look into the actual work.
- STEP 03
Appealing a denial decision
We check the work hours and cause of onset KCOMWEL accepted in its decision. If work was left out or the investigation got the facts wrong, we present evidence and file a request for review (filed with KCOMWEL) or a request for reconsideration (Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Reconsideration Committee).
Frequently asked questions
Find answers to your questions before a consultation.
Can it be workers' comp if I collapsed while resting at home or on a day off?
Yes, it can. Your work hours and work strain before onset matter more than when and where you collapsed.
If I didn't work more than 60 hours a week, is a claim unlikely?
First, when counting 60 hours a week, "working hours" under labor law and the "work hours" KCOMWEL assesses aren't the same thing. KCOMWEL's measure is broader and includes time spent getting ready for and wrapping up work. Even if your work hours didn't go over 60 a week, we need to review whether you were exposed to aggravating work factors.
I had high blood pressure or diabetes, and I smoked. Can I still file?
If you had an underlying condition, we look at whether it was well managed, for example with medication. Even with an underlying condition, if you meet the overwork criteria, the disease can be recognized as having gotten worse beyond its natural course.
What if there are no clock-in records, or the company reports fewer hours than I worked?
In some jobs, work hours aren't recorded in a way that can be measured directly. In those cases, we need to prove work hours using both direct and indirect evidence. A company underreporting hours may be covering up a workplace injury. If records are submitted that don't match the facts, we push back hard, and you should also speak up clearly before the Occupational Disease Adjudication Committee.
Can office workers who don't do physical labor file an overwork claim?
Whatever the job, if you're a worker covered by Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and you meet the overwork criteria, your claim can be approved.
What if the death certificate says cardiac arrest or unknown cause of death?
We first look at the circumstances around the unknown cause, then proceed under the procedure for cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease.
Request a consultation on a workers' comp or labor case
Find out if overwork makes it a workers' comp case.
Tell us your diagnosis, when it began, and your work hours and duties before onset. In a consultation, we'll tell you what records you need for your claim.
You can also email us directly
For corporate advisory work, new cases, or meeting requests,
email us at the address below.