ATA/109/1996•Invalidity cannot be based solely on average wage statistics
ATA/109/1996Court of Justice / Administrative ChamberMar 5, 1996Dismissed
Extracted by Omnilex
The dispute concerned an accident insurer's assessment of invalidity under the Accident Insurance Act. The insurer relied on OFIAMT wage statistics to determine the insured person's loss of earning capacity, but it did not identify any occupation suited to the insured person's handicap and did not establish actual earning possibilities in Geneva. The court held that such statistical averages are not enough by themselves when they ignore the injured person's concrete limitations.
LAA art. 6; determination of invalidity after accident: average wage statistics may not, by themselves, constitute a sufficient basis where they do not reflect the insured person's concrete residual work capacity and accident-related limitations. The insurer must establish, on a sufficiently concrete factual basis, which occupations remain suitable and what earning opportunities are realistically available in the relevant labour market; failing that, the invalidity assessment is inadequate (consid. not specified).
Descripteurs
ASSURANCE SOCIALE; ACCIDENT; AA; ENQUETE ECONOMIQUE; INCAPACITE DE TRAVAIL
Normes
LAA.6
Résumé
L'assurance ne peut se contenter, pour déterminer le degré d'invalidité de l'assuré, des montants des salaires figurant dans les statistiques de l'OFIAMT, dès lors qu'il apparaît que ces montants correspondent à des salaires moyens qui ne tiennent pas compte des limites particulières des capacités d'un assuré accidenté. L'assurance n'a proposé en l'espèce aucune profession susceptible de convenir au handicap de son assuré. Elle n'a pas non plus déterminé quelles seraient à Genève les possibilités de gain effectives de l'intéressé dans une des professions qu'il serait susceptible de pouvoir exercer.
Extracted by Omnilex
Whether invalidity may be determined solely on the basis of OFIAMT average wage statistics.
No. Statistical average wages alone are insufficient where they do not reflect the injured insured person's concrete work limitations.
The insurer must assess the insured person's real earning capacity. Generic statistical salaries do not account for the specific restrictions caused by the accident.
Whether the insurer established concrete suitable employment possibilities for the insured person.
No. The insurer did not identify any occupation compatible with the insured person's handicap and did not determine actual earning possibilities in Geneva.
Without concrete alternative occupations and a local market assessment, the invalidity evaluation lacks an adequate factual basis.
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