Suicide caused by incapacity of discernment under accident insurance

ATA/642/1997Cour de justice / Chambre administrative23 oct. 1997Granted

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Résumé Omnilex

The case concerns whether accident insurance benefits are excluded when an insured person attempts suicide. The court held that where the insured person, at the time of the act, was totally incapable of reasonable action because of a mental illness, the suicide attempt does not bar coverage. The insured person therefore retained entitlement to benefits under the LAA.

Regeste Omnilex

Art. 37 para. 1 LAA; suicide attempt and incapacity of discernment: accident insurance benefits remain due where, at the time of the act, the insured person was totally incapable of acting reasonably because of a mental illness. The decisive criterion is not the external form of the act, but the absence of a responsible volitional and cognitive control due to a severe psychical disorder. In such constellations, the self-harm act does not justify denial of the insured claim (consid. not specified).

Texte intégral

Descripteurs

ASSURANCE SOCIALE; ACCIDENT; AA; NOTION; SUICIDE; AFFECTION PSYCHIQUE; EXPERTISE; PRESTATION D'ASSURANCE(EN GENERAL); COUVERTURE; DEPRESSION; CAPACITE DE DISCERNEMENT; ASSU

Normes

LAA.37 al.1

Résumé

Un assuré qui, au moment de sa tentative de suicide, était totalement incapable d'agir raisonnablement en raison d'une maladie mentale (psychose maniaco-dépressive) a droit aux prestations prévues par la LAA en cas d'accident.

Mots-clés

social insuranceaccident insurancesuicidemental illnessincapacity of discernmentdepressionpsychosiscoverage

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Questions juridiques clés extraites par Omnilex

Question juridique clé

Whether a suicide attempt committed in a state of total incapacity of discernment falls within accident insurance coverage under Art. 37 para. 1 LAA.

Solution extraite

Yes. If the insured person was totally incapable of acting reasonably because of mental illness at the time of the suicide attempt, accident insurance benefits remain payable.

Motifs extraits

The decisive point is the insured person's mental capacity at the time of the act. A suicide attempt carried out without any reasonable control due to a severe psychical disorder is not treated as a disqualifying intentional self-harm event for purposes of denying benefits.

Suicide caused by incapacity of discernment under accident insuranceGénéré par IA