Natural causation denied for back pain and psychological symptoms

ATA/237/1997Cour de justice / Chambre administrative15 avr. 1997Dismissed

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Résumé Omnilex

The court held that the appellant’s back pain was caused by a congenital anomaly and not by an accident-related fracture from the slip. Once the statu quo sine was reached, only psychological complaints remained, but the accident was not serious enough to be considered a legally relevant cause of those symptoms. The appeal therefore failed and no further accident-insurance coverage was owed for the claimed consequences.

Regeste Omnilex

Art. 6 al. 1 LAA; natural causation and psychological sequelae of an accident: where medical evidence shows that back complaints result from a congenital anomaly rather than from the alleged accident mechanism, natural causal connection is excluded. If, after reaching statu quo sine, only psychological symptoms persist, accident causation requires that the event be of sufficient objective gravity to explain the development of such disorders; absent such gravity, liability under accident insurance is denied.

Texte intégral

Descripteurs

ASSURANCE SOCIALE; CAUSALITE NATURELLE; PREDISPOSITION; TENDANCE A LA REVENDICATION; STATU QUO SINE; FRACTURE; AFFECTION PSYCHIQUE; ASSU

Normes

LAA.6 al.1

Résumé

Il a été établi que les maux de dos dont souffre le recourant sont dus à une anomalie congénitale plutôt qu'à une fracture consécutive à la glissade dont il a été victime. A la date où a été recouvré la statu quo sine ne subsistaient que des troubles psychiques. Or, l'accident précité n'a pas été jugé suffisamment grave pour permettre l'apparition et le développement de tels troubles.

Mots-clés

social insurancenatural causationpredispositionstatu quo sinefracturepsychological disorderaccident insurance

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Question juridique clé

Whether the back complaints were in natural causal relation with the accident

Solution extraite

No. The back pain was attributable to a congenital anomaly rather than to an accident-induced fracture.

Motifs extraits

The medical evidence established a congenital predisposition as the real cause of the back complaints, excluding the asserted fracture mechanism.

Question juridique clé

Whether the remaining psychological symptoms were in natural causal relation with the accident

Solution extraite

No. After recovery of the statu quo sine, only psychological symptoms remained, but the accident was not severe enough to cause or sustain them.

Motifs extraits

The accident was not of sufficient gravity to justify the onset or persistence of the psychical disorders under accident-insurance causation standards.

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