A cook who developed a brain hemorrhage that left him partially paralyzed because of his grueling work hours finally won workers’ compensation in spite of an earlier decision by labor authorities to deny benefits because his overtime fell slightly shy of threshold that probably would have killed him.

The decision marked the end of a six-year battle for certification.

It is also the first case to be recognized after the government adopted new guidelines in September to grant benefits to those who developed brain or heart disease due to harsh working conditions. A range of factors, not just overtime, are taken into account, according to the labor ministry. They include the physical burden that the individuals confronted.

“I feel rewarded for not having given up hope and continuing my fight for benefits,” said the 62-year-old resident of Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture. “Many people fall ill as a result of working late-night shifts. I hope my case will inspire others seeking workers’ compensation.”

The man still experiences paralysis on the left side of his body.

He had worked at an outlet of the Shoya izakaya chain in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, since February 2015 after he was hired as a cook in 2008, according to his lawyer, Tadashi Matsumaru.

The restaurant operates from 11:30 a.m. to 3 a.m., and he worked all three shifts.

He was rushed to a hospital in January 2016 after developing a brain hemorrhage while at work.

Two months later, the man filed a claim for workers’ compensation with the local Kashiwa Labor Standards Inspection Office in Kashiwa. But his claim was rejected on grounds his overtime did not quite reach the benchmark for “karoshi” death from overwork or serious illness.

In awarding workers’ compensation, labor authorities chiefly examine two factors: whether an individual put in more than 100 hours of overtime in the month immediately prior to their death or onset of disease and whether the person had worked an average of 80 hours in monthly overtime over two to six months prior to their death or onset of disease.

Labor officials denied the man’s claim on grounds he put in up to 75 hours and 30 minutes in overtime over the period of two to six months before he fell ill.

Critics have long argued that keeping such a narrow interpretation of numerical thresholds in awarding compensation is misguided because many people fall sick as a result of severe work conditions even if they do not put in life-threatening hours.

They noted that the ratio of claims granted for workers who developed brain hemorrhages or heart disease had been on decline in recent years.

In fiscal 2020, 784 claims were made by individuals who developed such illnesses. Of those, 194 cases, or about 25 percent, were recognized. In less than 10 percent of the cases in which compensation was granted, the person worked less than 80 hours in monthly overtime, indicating that the number of hours of overtime was a crucial point in awarding benefits.

Lawyers who specialize in labor issues note that workers who experienced health problems due to overwork or relatives of those who died due to similar reasons often hesitate to come forward to claim compensation when their overtime slightly fell short of the karoshi threshold.

To make it easier for individuals to gain access to benefits, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare updated its guidelines in September to take into account the number of consecutive days worked without a day off, the frequency of late-night shifts and other factors, both physical and otherwise. The ministry pledged to assess each case thoroughly and on its own merits if the overtime was close to the karoshi level.

Under the new guidelines, the Kashiwa Labor Standards Inspection Office reviewed the man’s case and decided to award him compensation in a decision dated Dec. 6.

“In addition to overtime close to the karoshi threshold, he was overburdened by his workload, including working the late-night shift,” the office said.

Daisyo Corp., which operates the chain, declined to comment on the case.

(This story was written by Takashi Endo and Teruaki Sakamoto.)