Facts
The case concerns a complainant who suffered a rotator cuff rupture that had to be surgically treated on December 1, 1993. The Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA) disputed that this constituted an accident-like bodily injury attributable to an incident on August 17, 1993.
The lower court had correctly reproduced the case law on Art. 6 para. 2 AOIA and Art. 9 para. 2 OAAI on accident-like bodily injuries.
Considerations
The Federal Court states that SUVA's argument, that rotator cuff tears are not tendon ruptures within the meaning of Art. 9 para. 2 lit. f OAAI and are therefore only subject to compulsory benefits in the event of proof of an accident, violates the wording and purpose of the regulation on accident-like bodily injuries.
According to the case law, it is sufficient for the existence of an accident-like bodily injury if the damaging event at least constitutes a partial cause of the health damage, even if a degenerative or pathological pre-existing condition was present. For the injuries listed exhaustively in Art. 9 para. 2 lit. a-h OAAI, an external impact must at least be a triggering factor.
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