Extra Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ Accident Compensation Insurance provides benefits to workers who are victims of injury, illness, or death during work or while commuting to or from their workplace. It is a form of social insurance that is designed to protect workers, and is not intended to reduce the compensation risk of business enterprises. For this reason, there has been a considerable number of cases in which employees who have suffered work-related injuries (victims) or their bereaved families have filed civil claims against businesses for neglecting their duty to their workers to give due consideration to safety. These cases are on the rise, with the increase in prominence of the issue of death from overwork and similar problems. As this shows, extra workers’ compensation insurance has become important for businesses because of the risk of civil compensation claims that cannot be covered by regular workers’ compensation insurance.
In disputes related to industrial accidents and violations of the business’s obligation of safety, it will be necessary to investigate the site to determine the nature of the accident and compare it with past court cases, to determine whether or not there has been negligence and, if so, the percentage of negligence. In the event of the onset of mental illness, it will be necessary to investigate whether or not an event occurred prior to the onset of the illness, in order to determine whether or not the illness was brought about by work. It is difficult to make categorical or stereotyped judgments on these issues. In each individual case, expert judgment based on experience is important. In disputes that also involve recognized residual disability, the amount of damages can reach extremely high levels. It is important, therefore, to have knowledge and experience based on trial practice, and consideration of the case from a medical perspective is also necessary. Our firm has extensive experience representing companies in work-related accidents cases and advising non-life insurance companies. Working with medical experts, we have systems in place that enable us to propose early and appropriate solutions for each conflict and to provide comprehensive support.