Facts
L. (born 1943) worked as a group leader at the integration facility X, an establishment under the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA). On June 14, 1990, he suffered a serious traffic accident with his bicycle on his way home from work. SUVA acknowledged its obligation to provide benefits, but reduced the monetary benefits by 10% due to gross negligence in causing the accident.
[L.] filed a complaint against the reduction, which was dismissed by the High Court of the Canton of Schaffhausen. Subsequently, [L.] filed an administrative court appeal with the Federal Insurance Court.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court states that according to Article 31 of Convention No. 102 on Minimum Standards of Social Security and Article 31 of the European Code of Social Security (EOSS), reductions in benefits for work accidents are not permissible. However, the present accident occurred on the commute to work and is generally classified as a non-occupational accident under Swiss law.
Since the international agreements do not define the term "work accident" in more detail, it must be interpreted according to domestic law. Pursuant to Article 7 paragraph 2 of the Federal Law on Accident Insurance (UVG), commuting accidents are generally…