Question raised

In June 2023, Mr. Zhang was accidentally injured at work. The company subsequently arranged for him to rest and paid him his salary normally, but did not apply for work-related injury recognition within 30 days. Mr. Zhang considered renewing his labor contract in the future, so he did not apply for work-related injury recognition within one year. In July 2024, Mr. Zhang's labor contract expired and the company notified him that the contract would not be renewed upon its expiration. Mr. Zhang feels that the company disregards his previous work-related injury and refuses to renew his labor contract, which is heartless and unjust. So Mr. Zhang sued the company and demanded compensation for the losses caused by his work-related injury. So, can Mr. Zhang's lawsuit be supported by the court?

Lawyer analysis

The right to life and health of citizens is protected by the Constitution and laws in accordance with the law, and when it is violated, they have the right to claim compensation. Article 1165 of the Civil Code and the relevant provisions of the Work Injury Insurance Regulations regulate work-related accidents from the perspectives of personal injury and social insurance, respectively, so that work-related accidents have a dual nature of civil tort compensation and social insurance compensation. Based on this, workers who suffer work-related injuries have two claims in accordance with the law: one is the right to claim work-related injury insurance benefits based on the work-related injury insurance relationship, and the other is the right to claim civil tort damages based on personal injury. The two aforementioned claims do not have legal significance and are mutually exclusive, but in exercising them, attention should be paid to the order and time limit of application.

After a work-related injury occurs, workers should give priority to applying for work-related injury recognition. If a work-related injury is recognized, they can enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits in accordance with the law. According to Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Personal Injury Compensation Cases, "If an employee of an employer who should participate in the overall planning of work-related injury insurance suffers personal injury due to a work-related accident, and the employee or their close relatives file a lawsuit with the people's court requesting the employer to bear civil compensation liability, they shall be informed to handle it in accordance with the provisions of the Work Injury Insurance Regulations." Therefore, if an employee or their close relatives suffer personal injury due to a work-related injury, they should first claim their rights in accordance with the relevant provisions of the work-related injury and should not directly file a lawsuit according to civil cases. In addition, the deadline for employers to apply for work-related injury recognition is 30 days, and the deadline for employees or their families to apply for work-related injury recognition is one year. If the statutory deadline is exceeded, the social insurance administrative authority will no longer accept the application, and the worker will lose the administrative remedies, that is, the right to apply for compensation for work-related injury insurance benefits.

Due to the fact that the right to life and health is a legal interest that is protected first by law and has a certain degree of priority, workers still have the right to claim civil tort damages from employers as a general infringement even after losing administrative remedies. Regarding compensation and the proportion of responsibility, in principle, the court will treat it as a general civil case for personal injury compensation, and judge the responsibility and proportion of responsibility in accordance with relevant civil provisions such as the Civil Code. In judicial practice, in order to protect vulnerable groups, employers bear certain responsibilities for workers' work-related injuries based on the principle of no fault. Therefore, in cases where employees are unable to enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits due to the employer's reasons, most courts support the employer's liability for infringement and provide compensation for personal injury to employees in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code, including medical expenses, nursing expenses, lost work expenses, nutrition expenses, appraisal fees, disability compensation, etc. In addition, the right to claim compensation for civil infringement damages shall be subject to the three-year statute of limitations for civil litigation, which shall be calculated from the date when the right holder knows or should know that their rights have been damaged and the obligor.

In summary, in this case, Mr. Zhang can sue the employer for compensation for civil infringement damages within 3 years from the date of the accident. The court held that the company should have applied for work-related injury recognition from the human resources and social security department, but the company failed to apply for work-related injury recognition from the human resources and social security department, resulting in Mr. Zhang losing administrative remedies due to exceeding the statutory deadline. Therefore, the court ruled that the company should bear civil compensation liability.

This case reminds employers that after a work-related injury occurs, they should handle the relevant procedures for applying for work-related injury recognition and work-related injury insurance welfare benefits in accordance with the relevant regulations of work-related injury insurance. Once a work-related injury is identified, a portion of the expenses incurred due to the accident can be paid by the work-related injury insurance fund, thereby avoiding subsequent civil infringement lawsuits and compensation liabilities.