Adequate causal link denied for minor accident psych claims

ATA/202/1995Court of Justice / Administrative ChamberApr 11, 1995Dismissed

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

The Swiss Federal Court dealt with an accident-insurance dispute concerning psychological aftereffects allegedly caused by an accident. It held that the event was of little severity, or at most at the lower end of medium gravity. Of the adequacy criteria developed in case law, only physical pain was present. Given the limited gravity of the accident, that single criterion was not enough to establish an adequate causal link between the accident and the insured person’s psychological disorders. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

Omnilex headnote

Art. 6 LAA; adequate causal connection for psychological sequelae after an accident of minor gravity: where the accident is of little severity, or merely at the lower limit of medium gravity, the adequacy of causal link to later psychological complaints requires that several of the relevant criteria be met, or that particularly weighty circumstances compensate for the limited seriousness of the event. The mere presence of one criterion, here physical pain, is insufficient to establish adequacy in light of the accident’s relative insignificance (consid. unspecified).

Full text

Descripteurs

ASSURANCE SOCIALE; ACCIDENT; AA; CAUSALITE NATURELLE; CAUSALITE ADEQUATE; AFFECTION PSYCHIQUE; ACCIDENT DE PEU DE GRAVITE

Normes

LAA.6

Résumé

Pas de causalité adéquate; troubles psychiques;accident de peu de gravité. Même si on considérait que l'accident était de gravité moyenne, il devrait être classé à la limite inférieur de ce type d'accident. Parmi tous les critères mentionnés par le TF pour admettre un lieu de causalité adéquate, seul celui des douleurs physiques serait présent. Compte tenu de la gravité toute relative, la présence de ce seul élément ne suffit pas à fonder un lien de causalité adéquate avec les troubles psychiques du recourant.

Keywords

social insuranceaccident insurancenatural causalityadequate causalitypsychological disorderminor accidentphysical pain

Extracted by Omnilex

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Key legal question

Whether the accident had an adequate causal connection with the claimant’s psychological disorders under accident insurance law.

Extracted holding

No adequate causal connection was established. Even if the event were treated as an accident of medium gravity, it would fall at the lower limit of that category; in view of that limited seriousness, the sole relevant criterion present—physical pain—was insufficient.

Extracted reasoning

For psychologically mediated sequelae, the court applied the established adequacy criteria. Only one criterion was met, and the accident’s very limited gravity did not justify attributing the psychical complaints to the accident.

Adequate causal link denied for minor accident psych claimsAI generated