Facts
A., born in 1981, reported a fall down stairs on May 31, 2014 to the Schweizerische Mobiliar Versicherungsgesellschaft AG (Mobiliar) as an accident. Mobiliar rejected the claim for benefits, as there was no causal connection between the accident event and the diagnosed recurrence of the disc herniation. A. filed an appeal against this decision by email on October 24, 2014. Mobiliar did not enter into the appeal, as the submission by email did not meet the formal requirements. The cantonal court and the Federal Supreme Court confirmed the decision not to enter into the matter.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that according to Art. 10 para. 4 sentence 1 GSSLO, appeals filed in writing must be signed. Emails do not meet this formal requirement, as there is no handwritten signature or qualified electronic signature. The GSSLA does not contain any provisions on electronic communication, so the requirement of a signature applies to appeals.
The Federal Supreme Court does not see the strict application of the formal requirements as excessive formalism. While there is generally a right for the authority to return a submission with formal defects for correction if the deadline has not yet expired, in the present case…