Facts
X., born in 1940, worked as a ski instructor for the Schweizerische Skischule Y. during the 1996/97 winter season starting on 30 December 1996. He suffered a skiing accident on 17 January 1997 while on duty. The insurance company La Suisse Versicherungen initially paid him a daily allowance until 1 February 1998, then set the amount of the daily allowance at 57.26 francs for the employment period as a ski instructor from 30 December 1996 to 11 April 1997. X. filed a complaint against this decision.Considerations
The Federal Court ruled that, although X. had only worked for a short period before the accident and his salary had fluctuated significantly due to the seasonal nature of his activity, Art. 23 para. 3 AIO applies. This means that the determining income for the calculation of the daily allowance must be established on the basis of an appropriate average daily wage, taking into account all relevant factors of the specific employment relationship, such as the employee's age, skills, professional experience and local knowledge, as well as the wages paid to his colleagues at the same ski school during the 1996/97 season.
According…