Facts
Ernst Z. (born in 1919) worked partially after his retirement in 1984 in a company subject to the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA). On December 30, 1985, he was involved in a traffic accident on his way back from work, from which he died at the scene. The compensation fund granted his widow Rosa Z. (born in 1918) a regular old-age pension from the AHV of CHF 14,856 per year. However, SUVA denied the right to a survivor's pension from the mandatory accident insurance, as the AHV pension exceeded 90% of the insured salary and therefore no supplementary pension resulted from the differential calculation provided for in Art. 31 para. 4 AIA.Considerations
The Insurance Court of the Canton of Berne considered that, according to the principle of material concordance of benefits applicable to the issue of possible overcompensation, the interpretation of Art. 31 para. 4 AIA could only be made in such a way that the supplementary pension corresponds to the difference between 90% of the insured salary and the pensions from the AHV or the IV, but taking into account only the elements of the AHV pension that have their legal basis in the accidental death of the husband. However, the portion of the pension that the spouse can claim from her own right and independently of the accidental death of her husband should be excluded from the calculation. For only the portion of the pension intended to compensate for the loss of support resulting from the death of the husband is directly related to the accidental death and covers the same material damage as the survivor's pension from the mandatory accident insurance.
SUVA argues in its administrative…