Facts
[B.], born in 1969, works in the service of the fiduciary company for expertise and revision A. SA. In October 1991, she was bitten on the right leg by a tick, which resulted in an inflammatory wound with erythema migrans. A serological examination revealed acute-phase borreliosis (Lyme disease). [B.] was hospitalized at the Medical Clinic of the Cantonal Hospital of Fribourg from November 24 to 25, 1991, and then from November 26 to December 4, 1991, where the doctors diagnosed stage I Lyme disease.
The accident insurance company La Bâloise refused to cover the costs, considering that Lyme disease was not due to an extraordinary external cause. [B.] appealed this decision to the Social Insurance Court of the Administrative Court of the Canton of Fribourg, which dismissed the appeal.
[B.] then filed an administrative law appeal to the Federal Insurance Court.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court considered that the tick bite of the Ixodes genus meets all the characteristics of an accident within the meaning of the law and case law. Indeed, the penetration of pathogenic germs through the skin lesion caused by the bite constitutes an extraordinary external factor, even if the tick does not directly inoculate a venom but transmits an infection.
According to case law, the existence of a…