II. Necessity of Autopsies and other Evidence when Seeking Recognition of an Industrial Accident

What kind of evidence is needed for recognition of an incident as an occupational
accident/illness? In my experience handling cases of overwork-related fatalities, recognition of an industrial accident is based on acknowledgment of facts and application of the law, with acknowledgment of facts the most important. This is because the dispute on whether the facts are related to the finding of truth continues throughout the stages of application, investigation, hearing, and trial.
Generally, when death occurs, the cause is most important, particularly when cause remains unknown. When death occurs after retirement, it is important to reveal any relationship with the deceased person’s work for his or her employer.
However, in most cases, an autopsy is not performed after a fatality. The first reason for this is that, even with an autopsy, it is difficult to determine the cause
of death. The second reason is the widespread belief that an autopsy “kills the deceased twice.”
Other reasons include the fact that autopsies are expensive and interrupt the conventional funeral process which in turn adds further burden on the surviving family. For their part, the police are reluctant to perform autopsies because of additional works to do along with the autopsy performed. The police usually leave the office immediately after their duty time. If an autopsy is to be performed, the police will receive a statement from the bereaved family and must apply for a warrant for physical examination of the deceased. Above all, if an autopsy warrant is issued, they must attend the autopsy and prepare a report. Therefore, if it is determined that there is little or no connection to any crime, the police do not tell the bereaved family that an autopsy is needed. If there is no suspicion of murder, a formal statement is sent to the prosecution saying that the corpse will be handed over to the bereaved family. Prosecutors do not go to the site to examine the corpse. Instead, they work according to the police opinion that an autopsy is not needed and simply look over and sign the documents posted by the police.
For suicides, the body is always delivered to the surviving family. The police do not investigate possible reasons for the suicide, the events leading up
to it, or contributing factors, as suicide is not a crime. In order to uncover the cause, a suicide-related investigation is needed.
The cell phone of the deceased is held and forensically analyzed. The conversations between the deceased and other people prior to the suicide, the worries the deceased had, any drugs or medication he/she was taking, and treatments received are all investigated.
CCTV footage will also be viewed to look for behavior leading up to the suicide. The existence of a will, etc., will need to be determined, and if necessary, the house, office and vehicle may need to be searched. If a will is found, it remains necessary to confirm that it is in the handwriting of the deceased.
As the suicide may be due to excessive stress at the office, bullying by a boss or
co-workers, sexual harassment, sexual molestation, etc., a psychiatric and psychological analysis will also be performed.
As can be seen, in some cases, a thorough investigation is required to determine the facts before the application of law in the process of identifying whether an incident was an occupational accident or not. Forensic scientists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, forensics experts, and investigative experts can all be sought for advice.
For a death of disease, the case may be closed upon issuance of only a certificate of death. However, it is necessary to investigate carefully the cause of death and whether any illness existed in relation to work and to what extent it contributed to the fatality.
In some developed countries, this is determined by a pathological autopsy. Any relationship between the workplace environment and illnesses such as high blood pressure and cancer will need to be determined, which of course would involve onsite investigation. If the place where the deceased worked is a national or local government entity or a public institution, we can request the related data through a request for disclosure of information. Alternatively, it will be necessary to visit the site in person to interview co-workers and/or secure photos and video of the site. Any interviews will need to be recorded and then transcribed. An investigation of the impacts to health can also be requested, and can include such factors as noise levels and air quality. The investigation can be reported to the media or a complaint submitted to the local council.
In my experience, the collection and submission of evidence is only conducted by the surviving family and not at the direct request of lawyers and labor attorneys, who usually instruct the bereaved family to collect, organize and submit evidence, while they gather precedents and apply jurisprudence. However, this evidence can prove the most important factor in whether an incident is recognized as an occupational accident or not. it is important also to state again that an autopsy is essential in cases where claims exist that the deceased died from overwork. Even a note from the autopsy that the fatality may be linked to overwork can be advantageous during investigation and trial.