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Judgment No. 2533

Decision

1. The OPCW is ordered to pay reasonable compensation to the complainant for the consequences of his workplace injury. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the OPCW shall pay the amounts offered in the impugned decision subject to the following modifications.
(a) Reasonable in-home care expenses, to be justified by receipts or other proofs of payment, shall be paid as provided in section II above together with interest thereon as provided in section V above.
(b) The sum of 89,917.45 euros is to be paid as the cost of past and future adaptations to the complainant's house and car without any reduction in the amount of the ex gratia payment of 150,000 euros.
(c) If the disability pension payments to the complainant have their purchasing power reduced at any time by 10 per cent or more such payments shall be increased from time to time as required to bring them up to parity with their present day real value.
(d) The complainant shall receive an award of costs in the amount of 5,000 euros.
2. All other claims are dismissed.

Consideration 6

Extract:

The complainant suffered a workplace injury at the Organization premises. The results of this seemingly minor accident were catastrophic and the complainant is now permanently and totally disabled and suffers from a rare illness, which has extended up both of the complainant's legs and requires him to use a wheelchair.
"It is common for a mature legal system to provide compensation on a 'no fault' basis to employees who suffer workplace injuries; the law of the international civil service can do no less."

Keywords

applicable law; general principle; international civil service principles; organisation's duties; professional accident; handicapped person; service-incurred; invalidity; material damages; official

Consideration 18

Extract:

The complainant suffered a workplace injury at the Organization premises. The results of this seemingly minor accident were catastrophic and the complainant is now permanently and totally disabled and suffers from a rare illness, which has extended up both of the complainant's legs and requires him to use a wheelchair.
"[T]he expenses of necessary adaptations to house and car are on no different footing than other necessary expenses incurred as a consequence of the complainant's service-related injury and must be reimbursed."

Keywords

organisation's duties; professional accident; handicapped person; service-incurred; invalidity; refund; medical expenses; health insurance

Consideration 22

Extract:

The complainant suffered a workplace injury at the Organization premises. The results of this seemingly minor accident were catastrophic and the complainant is now permanently and totally disabled and suffers from a rare illness, which has extended up both of the complainant's legs and requires him to use a wheelchair.
"The absence of an indexation clause [of the "disability pension"], however, does not remove the defendant's obligation to provide the complainant with adequate compensation. The concern that the utility of the award may be reduced through spoliation is very real and could, in times of high inflation, conceivably, have the effect of negating the very purpose of the disability pension which is to make the complainant whole despite his service-related injury. That is only a possibility, however, and the Tribunal is reluctant to order indexation as a matter of routine when the feared spoliation may never occur to an extent significant enough to seriously affect the complainant's position. Exceptionally, the Tribunal will frame its order in such a way that the complainant may apply at a future date for an adjustment to any ongoing pension payments when and if the purchasing power of such payments has been reduced by at least 10 per cent. Such applications should be by way of request for the execution of the present judgment."

Keywords

application for execution; organisation's duties; reckoning; adjustment; cost-of-living increase; professional accident; handicapped person; service-incurred; disability benefit; invalidity

Consideration 26

Extract:

The complainant suffered a workplace injury at the Organization premises. The results of this seemingly minor accident were catastrophic and the complainant is now permanently and totally disabled and suffers from a rare illness, which has extended up both of the complainant's legs and requires him to use a wheelchair.
"[G]iven the possibly progressive nature of [the illness], the condition may continue to deteriorate seriously. [...] the Tribunal asserts unequivocally that the defendant's obligation to pay the complainant reasonable compensation for the results of his workplace injury is a continuing one and is not affected or diminished by the terms of an insurance policy to which the complainant is not a party."

Keywords

organisation's duties; provision; insurance; professional accident; handicapped person; illness; maximum limit; medical examination; service-incurred; disability benefit; invalidity; consequence; health insurance



 
Last updated: 18.09.2020 ^ top