Facts
M., born in 1970, was the managing director of company T. and was insured against accidents with Basler Versicherungs-Gesellschaft (Basler) in this capacity. On August 8, 2007, he was arrested by the Cantonal Police of Zurich and placed in pre-trial detention. During the transport to the detention facility, he suffered an injury to his right wrist. Basler acknowledged its basic obligation to provide benefits, but suspended the daily allowance payments for the duration of the pre-trial detention from August 8 to September 24, 2007.
M. filed a complaint against this decision. The Social Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich overturned the objection decision and determined that M. was also entitled to daily allowance benefits from the accident insurance during the pre-trial detention. Basler subsequently filed a public law appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to Art. 21 para. 5 ATSG, which also applies to the mandatory accident insurance due to the reference in Art. 1 UVG, cash benefits with the character of earnings replacement can be suspended in whole or in part during the execution of criminal sentences or measures. This serves to ensure equal treatment of incarcerated persons with and without disabilities, as the latter are also prevented from engaging in gainful employment due to the deprivation of liberty.
In contrast to disability pensions, where the suspension of benefits can only occur after a certain duration of pre-trial detention (up to three months), the Federal Supreme Court sees no…