In August 2024, an accident occurred at a construction site managed by S Construction Company, where a worker from a subcontractor (K Company) was injured after falling while climbing a tower crane. The injured worker claimed that site manager A, who was the construction site manager, failed to fulfill his duty of care to prevent the fall and filed a complaint against A for occupational negligence resulting in injury.

We closely analyzed the circumstances of the accident and noticed the fact that the injured worker had deviated from the designated movement path and was moving in an abnormal manner when the fall occurred. Based on this, we argued that: ① the site manager A had fulfilled all duties required for ensuring safety by establishing a safe movement path and conducting special safety training for the injured worker, checking its implementation; and ② since the injured worker voluntarily climbed to an area where no work was scheduled and had the accident, there was no causal relationship between the site manager’s alleged breach of duty and the accident. ③ We also successfully refuted the suspicion raised by the police during the investigation by arguing that there was no obligation to install a fall protection net at the accident location according to the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

The duty of care required of a construction site manager varies depending on the situation of each site. However, if an accident occurs despite the site manager fulfilling these duties, it is important to promptly seek legal expertise to identify the key issues in the case, develop defense strategies, and respond proactively.

By choosing Barun Law, a firm with expertise in industrial and major accidents, the client was able to obtain a police decision not to refer the case to the prosecution, thereby avoiding criminal liability.

- Attorneys involved: Lee Sang-Jin, Kang Tae-Hun, Kim Ji-Hee and Han Min-Guk