Facts
On April 23, 1978, Hans-Rudolf Nebauer, born in 1967, fell off his bicycle while avoiding a car in his lane. He sustained an injury to his collarbone. The driver of the car continued on without stopping.
The "Krankenfürsorge" health and accident insurance fund decided on June 13, 1978, that it would not cover the costs of healing the accident, as according to its statutes, it is not required to provide benefits in cases of causal liability or third-party liability. It considered that in the case of the insured Hans-Rudolf Nebauer, the Confederation covered the claims for damages for personal injury.
The Insurance Court of the Canton of Zurich dismissed the appeal against this decision on February 27, 1979, on the grounds that the federal coverage under Art. 76 RTA had to be qualified as third-party liability within the meaning of the aforementioned statutory provisions.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court considers that the subsidiarity clauses of the fund's statutes, provided for in Art. 44 let. g and 45 no. 2 let. a, are intended to exclude the fund from the circle of liable debtors to the extent that other indemnity debtors must bear the costs of healing and loss of earnings.
According to Art. 76 para. 3 RTA, federal coverage only intervenes to the extent that the victim cannot obtain compensation elsewhere. It is therefore subsidiary to other liable debtors. Contrary to the opinion of the fund and the previous instance, the…