South Korean Supreme Court approves compensation for victims of humidifier disinfectant

The Supreme Court has ruled for the first time that manufacturers and distributors of humidifier disinfectants are liable to compensate victims of humidifier disinfectants.
On the 9th, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. Kim, a victim of the humidifier disinfectant, was arrested by Oxy Ray, a manufacturer and distributor of the humidifier disinfectant.
The company made this announcement on the day of the hearing date for the appeal hearing in the damage compensation lawsuit filed against Kit Benckiser (currently RB Korea) and Hanvit Chemical.
Although the first instance court did not accept Kim's request, the second instance court ordered the business to pay Kim 5 million won (approximately 570,000 yen) in compensation.
. It was determined that there was a flaw in the product design and labeling of the humidifier disinfectant, which caused Mr. Kim to suffer physical injury. The Supreme Court stated, ``The judgment of the trial court does not include the presumption of causation in product liability and non-specific
The court affirmed the lower court's judgment and dismissed all appeals by the plaintiff and defendant, stating, "There was no mistake in misunderstanding legal principles regarding proving the causal relationship between diseases of the opposite sex or calculating alimony, which affected the judgment." humidifier disinfectant
This is the first appellate court ruling in a civil case in which a user of a product claims compensation for damages against its manufacturer and distributor. Mr. Kim worked for Oxy and Hanvit Chemical from November 2007 to April 2011.
A humidifier disinfectant manufactured and sold by was used. In May 2010, he was diagnosed with lung disease, and in May 2013, he was diagnosed with interstitial lung disease of unknown cause at Bundang Seoul University Hospital.
. However, in March 2014, the patient was diagnosed with a level 3 lung injury because ``the possibility of lung disease caused by the humidifier disinfectant is low.''
Stage 3 victims are excluded from government support payments, unlike stages 1 and 2.
Mr. Kim filed a lawsuit in 2015. A Supreme Court source said, ``The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's investigation, which determined that the plaintiff had a ``low possibility'' (level 3), indicated that the use of a humidifier disinfectant in the distal tracheal region was not recommended.
The possibility of cardiopulmonary disease has only been determined, and the determination of whether there is a causal relationship between the use of humidifier disinfectants and the occurrence or aggravation of the disease due to the use of humidifier disinfectants in a lawsuit for damages depends on the specific details of the user of the humidifier disinfectant.
"This judgment is based on the premise that the case may differ depending on the proof."