Applicability of Swiss legal regulations to an Austrian employee who had an accident in Sweden

Facts

The respondent, who is from Austria, concluded an "employment contract" with E. Ltd. on 10/18 February 2005, according to which he was employed as a "forestry worker - Switzerland/Sweden" "from around 13.02.2005" onwards. On 17 February 2005, he travelled from Austria to Switzerland to the headquarters of E. Ltd. According to the work report, he was introduced to the intended activity over the following two days, in order to set out for his place of deployment in Sweden on 20 February 2005. There, he began the timber work on 25 February 2005. On 7 March 2005, he was struck by a falling tree while at work and sustained various injuries. The Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (SUVA) took over the costs of treatment and paid daily allowances. By order of 17 May 2006, SUVA discontinued its services on the grounds that it had subsequently emerged that L. did not have the status of a posted worker, and therefore there was no insurance coverage with them.

Considerations

Pursuant to Art. 13(2)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, an employed person is generally subject to the legislation of the state in which they are employed. An exception is provided for, inter alia, posted workers (Art. 14(1) of Regulation No 1408/71). However, for the posting regulation to apply, the employee must have been subject to the legislation of the posting state immediately prior to the posting. In the present case, the respondent was not compulsorily insured in Switzerland or any other Member State prior to his posting to Sweden. He was…