Facts
The case concerns a soldier, Josef Bucher, who suffered from pain in the sacrum region during his military service in 1967. The pain persisted and was treated by various doctors. The military insurance covered the medical expenses until 1973, but then refused to continue paying, arguing that the pain was no longer related to the military service.
The soldier contested this decision and requested a medical expertise. The expertise concluded that the pain was probably related to a neurosis and that the primary cause was a physical injury sustained during military service.
The administrative court of the canton of Lucerne confirmed the decision of the military insurance, but the federal court annulled this decision and referred the case for a new medical expertise.
Considerations
The federal court examined the provisions of the Military Insurance Law (MilIA) and found that the military insurance is responsible for any health damage occurring during military service, unless it can prove that the damage was pre-existing or was not caused by the military service.
The court also examined the applicable rules of evidence and found that the evidence of causality between the military service and the health damage must be established with sufficient certainty.
The court concluded that, in this case, the military insurance had…