Liability for Trauma and Work Related Mental Illness and Suicide a Growing Global Problem
Friday 19 September 2014 @ 12.50 p.m. | Industrial Law | Legal Research
Recently, the SMH reported that a Japanese court in Fukushima had ruled that Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), the key Japanese nuclear power plant operator, could be held responsible for the suicide of a woman who became depressed after the earthquake/tsunami disaster and resulting power station melt down in 2011. Such a ruling highlights the question of whether the law, employers and insurers do enough to help those harmed by major stress and trauma.
The Story of One Victim
It is reported that the woman in the Japanese case worked on a chicken farm about 37 kilometres from the Fukushima nuclear plant which had not been included in the Japanese government's original evacuation zone, and was only included a month after the tsunami disaster when the town was declared radioactive. The woman and her family were then forced to move to a cramped apartment in a city further away from the Fukushima plant.
The woman's husband has reportedly told the court that in 2012 his wife had begun taking sleeping pills when they both lost their jobs as their chicken farm was forced to close. They also lost their house on which they still owed $150,000. The husband said that they had returned to their house for one night in June 2011 for a short visit and next morning he found his wife's body outside the house.
While others with similar actions have settled with Tepco the woman's family chose to continue its lawsuit, claiming that Tepco was responsible for the woman's suicide and looking for a $900,000 compensation settlement which includes lost future earnings.
Some Cases Settled by Tepco
There are reports that a number of families in similar situations who have made complaints against Tepco, have settled with Tepco but it is not clear how many cases Tepco has settled or how much compensation it had paid out to victims.
Reports quoting Japanese Cabinet Office data, indicate that there has been 130 suicides in nine prefectures between June 2011 and July 2014 that could be linked to the 2011 tsunami and earthquake and the nuclear plant accident that followed. Fukushima accounted for 40 percent of the suicides in the years following the disaster.
Finding of Liability a First
As the SMH reports, the Japanese Court ruling was the first time that Tepco had been found liable for a suicide resulting from the accident at Fukushima and, as such, the decision could strength the resolve of others seeking redress against the the now struggling Japanese power company.
Wider Ramifications
The Japanese decision is of interest closer to home where recently SMH has reported that there is significant data to indicate costs attributable to mental illness arising from work and traumatic life events are causing insurance premiums to rise rapidly. The report states:
"Superannuation funds and life insurers are being urged to focus on early intervention to curb the mounting cost of claims caused by mental illness, a trend that has caused insurance premiums within super to skyrocket".
The SMH report is said to be based on industry-backed research that has found that 13 superannuation funds covering more than a third of the Australian workforce incurred costs of $201.5 million from suicide claims over the five years to 2011, and $147.9 million in claims for total and permanent disablement linked to mental illness.
The research is said to comes as businesses is facing growing calls to take action on mental health in the workplace, an issue which the report says "costs employers $10.9 billion a year". The report showed claim rates for suicide were highest among men in their late thirties while mental illness claims for total and permanent disablement peaked among men in their fifties.
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