A McDonald's in Kaohsiung has been ordered to pay NT$4.72 million (US$154,939) to the family of a 23-year-old employee who died several months after collapsing in a walk-in freezer.
In a Jan. 4 ruling, the Kaohsiung District Court said that the part-time employee, surnamed Lee (?), had fainted while moving an estimated 1.1 tonnes of food over 40 minutes between the kitchen and the fifth-floor freezer of the Yixin branch of McDonald's on May 29, 2021.
Lee was sent to hospital in a taxi with help from the store manager and other employees but died nearly four months later on Oct. 5 after suffering a brain hemorrhage and septic shock.
The Bureau of Labor Insurance initially declared the incident not to be a work-related fatality, determining that Lee had died due to "spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage combined with communicating hydrocephalus."
However, Lee's parents sought NT$10.05 million to cover medical, funeral, and other expenditures from the McDonald's branch, accusing their son's employer of negligence and a failure to comply with legally required safety standards.
Based partially testimony from a Kaohsiung Medical University Chung Ho Memorial Hospital doctor, the district court determined that there was a causal relationship between the heavy labor done by Lee on the day of his collapse and his death.
As a result, the court ordered the Yixin branch of McDonald's to pay NT$4.72 million in compensation to Lee's parents, a decision that can be appealed.
Meanwhile, the Labor Insurance Bureau said it would reclassify Lee's death as work-related in light of the court's judgment.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel