Facts
The complainant, [B.] , applied for benefits from the disability insurance in October 2001. The InvIO of the canton of Lucerne rejected the application by decision of 27 September 2004, as no entitlement-establishing degree of disability was present. The Administrative Court of the canton of Lucerne and the Federal Supreme Court confirmed this decision.
On 21 December 2007, [B.] again asserted claims for benefits against the disability insurance and submitted two medical reports. The InvIO did not consider the application, as no claim-relevant change in the state of health had been plausibly demonstrated.
[B.] filed a complaint with the Administrative Court of the canton of Lucerne and requested the revocation of the decision and the instruction to the InvIO to consider the application for benefits. The cantonal court rejected the application for free legal aid, as the complaint had little prospect of success.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court examined the question of whether the complaint against the refusal of disability pension benefits was futile. The lower court had found that the apparent facts presented with the new application were not sufficient to consider the application and conduct in-depth investigations.
The Federal Supreme Court stated that a new application is only substantively reviewed if the insured person plausibly demonstrates that the actual circumstances have changed significantly since the last, final decision in a manner relevant to the pension claim. The admissibility requirement under Art. 87 para. 3 and 4 InvIO is intended to prevent the…