"Former workers at RCA factory win Supreme Court case", 13 Mar 2022

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of 222 former Radio Corp of America (RCA) workers who had been exposed to cancer-causing chemicals, overturning a 2020 lower court decision that denied their damage claims.

The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the High Court, saying that the exposure to toxic chemicals might have breached the appellants’ constitutional rights, even though a causal relationship with illness had not been established.

Separately, the Supreme Court upheld a High Court ruling from March 2020 that awarded NT$54.7 million (US$1.93 million at the current exchange rate) in compensation to 24 other plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit brought by former RCA employees and relatives of deceased or injured workers against RCA, its parent company and successor entities in 2004.

The High Court in 2020 ruled that the 24 plaintiffs were entitled to compensation for being exposed to toxic chemicals that might have sickened thousands of RCA workers at a factory in Taoyuan run by RCA from 1970 to 1992.

However, the lower court denied damages to 222 others, saying that they either had not proved that the chemicals caused their conditions or that they had no obvious exterior signs of being sick.

Supreme Court Judge Kao Meng-hsun (高孟焄) on Friday said that the High Court verdict was “problematic” and “controversial.”...

Kao said exposing someone to highly toxic chemicals, which result in a higher risk of becoming sick and causes stress for those exposed, might be a breach of their constitutional rights...

Joseph Lin (林永頌), an attorney who leads a group of volunteer lawyers involved in the litigation, said that the retrial by the High Court triggered by Friday’s ruling would likely take months or even years.

However, Lin said he was optimistic that his side would win and the 222 plaintiffs would receive their due compensation.