Facts
D., born in 1946, was hit by a cyclist on May 11, 1992 and sustained a distal intra-articular radius fracture. On November 3, 1992, he applied for disability insurance benefits. The IV office of the Canton of Zurich had, among other things, the vocational reintegration options examined and obtained the files from the Swiss Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA). On July 20, 1995, it informed the insured that a medical assessment would be necessary to review the entitlement to benefits, which would be carried out by the Medical Assessment Center X.
On August 17, 1995, D. declared that he did not agree with the planned assessment, as X usually called in Dr. med. T., who was biased, and the assessment center itself was not independent. By order of September 12, 1995, the IV office insisted on the planned assessment.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court first notes that the cantonal IV offices are not federal administrative authorities and therefore the provisions of the Federal Act on Administrative Procedure (VwVG) and the Federal Act on Federal Civil Procedure (BZP) do not apply in the assessment procedure before the IV offices. Instead, the procedure is governed by Articles 69-77 of the Ordinance on Disability Insurance (IVV) and the cantonal regulations.
The hearing of the insured person or his legal representative provided for in Article 73bis paragraph 1 IVV goes beyond the minimum entitlement guaranteed in Article 4 of the…