Facts
The Swiss Accident Insurance Institution (SUVA) and [L.] , the widow of [H.] , disputed the amount of the surviving dependent's pension to which [L.] was entitled after the death of her husband. [H.] was insured with the SUVA as a non-self-employed employee from 1945 to 1953 and was exposed to asbestos during this time. He died in 2005 as a result of an occupational disease. The SUVA had initially calculated a surviving dependent's pension based on the salary that [H.] earned as a non-self-employed employee in 1953. [L.] requested a recalculation of the pension, taking into account the salary that [H.] earned as a self-employed person before his retirement, and an adjustment for inflation.
The Cantonal Insurance Court of Solothurn overturned the SUVA's decision and referred the case back to the SUVA to reassess the surviving dependent's pension. The SUVA appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examined the admissibility of the appeal and concluded that the lower court had rightly referred the case back to the SUVA to reassess the surviving dependent's pension. The court found that the concept of the Accident Insurance Act (AIA) is based on the assumption that the insured event occurred at a time when the insured person was still gainfully employed. In cases where the insured person has retired from working life due to age, there is no specific solution.
The court ruled that the insured income for the calculation of the surviving dependent's pension is the salary that [H.] earned as a non-self-employed employee in 1953, adjusted for the general statistical development of nominal wages in the relevant field of…