Overwork-Related Heart Attack Workers' Comp: The Recognition Standard Is 60 Hours a Week Averaged Over 12 Weeks

"Overwork death" isn't itself a diagnosis

The chronic-overwork threshold: 60 hours over 12 weeks, or 64 hours over 4 weeks

The Ministry of Employment and Labor's notice sets a clear line. If average weekly working hours exceeded 60 hours over the 12 weeks before onset, or exceeded 64 hours over the 4 weeks before onset, the connection between work and the disease is evaluated as "strong." Crucially, meeting either threshold alone is enough for a strong-connection finding. Even if the 12-week average falls short, a sudden spike in hours during just the last 4 weeks before onset can open the door to recognition on its own.

Under 60 hours doesn't mean the case is closed

When average weekly hours over the 12 weeks before onset exceed 52 hours, even without reaching 60, the connection between work and the disease is evaluated as progressively increasing the longer the hours run. In other words, the 52-60 hour range isn't a clean "recognized" or "not recognized" line -- it's weighed together with other aggravating factors (night work, shift work, high mental strain, hazardous working conditions). Don't give up just because your hours fall short of the headline threshold; start by documenting whatever other burden factors were present.

Night work carries extra weight

Even for the same number of hours, night work is treated as physically and mentally more burdensome than day work and factored into the judgment accordingly. This is why working-hour calculations don't just sum up clock time -- they also check what share of hours fell in the night band (typically 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.). For shift workers or people in night delivery, security, or production roles, a heavy night-work share can support a strong-connection finding even when total hours fall short of the baseline threshold.

What actually decides approval: documentation

The Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service doesn't take an employee's or employer's word for working hours. Time-stamped records -- card-tag or fingerprint clock-ins, vehicle gate logs, timestamps on work emails and messages, company PC login/logoff logs, and overtime pay shown on pay stubs -- become the core evidence. If a company understated hours or kept no records at all, gathering whatever supporting material exists -- coworker statements, work logs, a personal diary -- and submitting it together is the next best option.

Filing procedure -- from the medical care benefit application to the accident investigation

A workers' comp claim starts with submitting a medical care benefit application to the Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service. For cases classified as occupational disease, like cerebro-cardiovascular disease, the agency separately conducts an accident investigation into working hours, workload, and any pre-existing conditions, then decides on approval after review by the Occupational Disease Adjudication Committee. The agency's investigator will request working-hour records from the employer during this process, but submitting your own documentation alongside it helps shorten the investigation and prevents gaps.

After you've left the job, or when a surviving family files

Filing is possible even after resignation or death. If a history of concentrated overwork while employed connects in time to the onset or death, the same logic as the three-year statute of limitations for occupational diseases discovered after retirement applies: survivors can file for survivor benefits or medical care benefits for cerebro-cardiovascular disease within the limitations period from the date of onset or death. That said, working-hour evidence -- especially records held by the employer -- gets harder to obtain as time passes, so securing documentation as soon as the resignation or death is recognized matters in practice. Musculoskeletal conditions from repetitive motion or posture (like carpal tunnel syndrome workers' comp claims) use an entirely different recognition standard, so don't conflate them with cerebro-cardiovascular disease.

Employer consent isn't required

An employee or surviving family member can file directly with the Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service without the employer's consent. Some employers push for informal "company-handled" treatment instead, suggesting workers' comp will hurt the business, but the employer's confirmation or seal is not a legal requirement for filing. Even without employer cooperation, a claim can be filed using whatever documentation the employee holds, and the agency will request any missing records from the employer on its own authority.

What approval actually pays -- not just medical bills

Once the Occupational Disease Adjudication Committee approves a claim, it covers not only medical care benefits (full treatment and hospitalization costs) but also temporary disability benefits (70% of average wage) for the period the worker can't work due to treatment. If lasting impairment remains, disability benefits are paid according to the disability grade, and in the event of death, survivor benefits and funeral expenses go to the family. The process from accident investigation through committee review typically takes several months, so if living expenses become urgent in the meantime, it's worth checking in with the agency regularly on where the case stands.