Facts
The case concerns a person, D., born in 1971, who applied for disability insurance benefits in 1998. The AI Office of the canton of Zurich assessed her degree of disability at 28% and rejected her application. After a new application, the AI Office commissioned a multidisciplinary medical expertise from MEDAS. D.'s legal representative requested to be present during the examination, but the head of the MEDAS clinic refused. The AI Office then ordered D. to undergo the examination without the presence of her legal representative.
D. appealed against this decision to the Social Insurance Court of the canton of Zurich, which rejected her appeal. D. then filed a public law appeal with the Federal Court, requesting the annulment of the Social Insurance Court's decision and permission to be assisted by her legal representative during the medical examination.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the question of whether an insured person has the right to be assisted by a lawyer during a medical examination. The Court considered that, unlike a hearing before an authority, there is no right to be assisted by a lawyer during a medical expertise.
The Court emphasized that the presence of a legal representative during the medical examination could influence the objectivity of the expertise and that the insured person can always take note of the expert report and make observations after the examination. The Court also considered that the difference between a procedure before…