Facts
The dispute concerns an insured person who contested the decision of the Schweizerische Unfallversicherungsanstalt (SUVA) to refuse an insurance benefit. The insured person requested an external medical expertise, which was refused by the SUVA and the cantonal social insurance court of the canton of Zurich.
The parties involved are the insured person (the claimant) and the SUVA (the defendant). The federal social insurance court was seized of the case.
The issue in dispute is whether art. 4 Cst. and 6 ch. 1 ECHR confer a right to an external medical expertise in insurance benefit disputes.
Considerations
The federal social insurance court examined the applicable legal provisions and found that art. 4 Cst. and 6 ch. 1 ECHR do not provide for a right to an external medical expertise in insurance benefit disputes.
The court emphasized that Swiss law knows the principle of free assessment of evidence, which allows authorities and courts to make decisions based on available evidence, without being bound by formal rules of evidence.
The court also recalled that art. 96 UVG and 57-61 BZP govern the decision-making procedure in accident insurance and that authorities and courts must take medical evidence into account in their assessment.
The court concluded that, within the framework of free assessment of evidence, it is possible to…