Rejection of accident insurance coverage for the consequences of an event that occurred during the transfer of a patient

Facts

Amandio R., an operating room assistant at Clinic S., experienced severe back pain on September 14, 1987, while single-handedly moving a patient weighing between 100 and 120 kilograms from the operating table to a bed. He consulted a physician who diagnosed a dorsal vertebral syndrome and prescribed a work stoppage. The accident insurer refused to cover the consequences of this event, considering that it did not constitute an accident. Amandio R. and his health insurance fund filed an appeal against this decision.

Considerations

The Federal Court dismissed the appeal. It considered that the event of September 14, 1987, did not meet the definition of an accident within the meaning of Art. 9 para. 1 AIO, as the transfer of a patient from an operating table to a bed is part of the daily work of a nursing assistant and does not constitute an obviously excessive effort. Furthermore, the evidence of an injury equivalent to an accident within the meaning of Art. 9 para. 2 AIO was not sufficiently plausible. Finally, the conditions for the application of the general…