The Superior Court of Asturias has forced Spanish Social Security to recognize the absolute permanent disability to a gas station worker, considering that the combination of chronic paranoid schizophrenia and usual consumption of substances prevents him from exercising any profession with the minimum effectiveness required in the labor market. The decision guarantees a lifetime pension equivalent to 100% of the regulatory base, set at 904.74 euros per month.
Decision guarantees lifetime pension after successive judicial resources
According to the Noticiastrabjo digital newspaper, the man had been low since October 16, 2023 due to a severe psychiatric disorder, aggravated by the harmful consumption of cannabis, alcohol and other drugs, as well as suffering from chronic lumbalgia.
The request for recognition of permanent disability presented to the National Institute of La Segurado Social was initially rejected, and the administrative complaint was also not followed. In view of this, the worker appealed to the courts. JUZGADO DE LO SOCIAL No. 2 of Gijón gave him reason, a decision now confirmed by the Superior Court, which rejected the appeal presented by the management entity.
The sentence is based on the functional assessment of the allocation of pathologies and the realization that the worker does not have the ability to maintain a stable productive activity or respond to the requirements of any profession. This understanding is in accordance with the refunded text of the Spanish General Social Security Law and the regulation on disability installments.
Schizophrenia, dependence and functional limitations
The court analyzed the severity of the clinical picture in a practical way, going beyond the mere diagnostic description. I identified interpretative delusions, social isolation, loss of interest and slow thought, factors that compromise the ability of the worker to deal with situations of stress typical of any professional environment.
These symptoms add to alcohol and cannabis dependence, aspects that, according to magistrates, make the performance of any work activity with minimum safety and income. Chronic lumbalgia also contributes to the aggravation of the general disability.
The classification of the degree of disability follows the legal criteria that distinguish partial, total, absolute and great disability disability. In the case at issue, the category of “absolute” is translated into the recognition that the beneficiary is unfit for the exercise of the generality of the professions, which implies the right to a pension corresponding to 100% of the regulatory base.
The judicial decision stresses that the evaluation must focus on the individual limitations of the individual and the impossibility of maintaining a regular professional activity, not just in the existence of an isolated medical diagnosis.
Procedure and resources
The process followed the usual administrative and judicial course in these cases. Following the initial refusal of the National Institute of Securido Social, the worker filed a judicial appeal. The court of first instance has given it reason, understanding that the whole of its pathologies makes any profession impossible. The Superior Court confirmed this decision, recalling that the supplication appeal only allows to discuss the correct application of the right to proven facts, without reevaluating the evidence already appreciated.
Rights and possibility of review
The judgment sets the payment of a monthly pension of 904.74 euros, corresponding to 100% of the calculated regulatory base. However, the judgment provides for the possibility of revising the situation if it occurs aggravation or improvement of the beneficiary’s clinical status, in accordance with the legislation on incapacity review.
According to the decisions of this type have become more frequent in Spain, especially when the functional evaluation proves the total incompatibility of the worker with any work activity.
And in Portugal?
In Portugal, similar cases may also lead to the recognition of absolute permanent disability, based on the national legal framework. The attribution of disability pension is regulated by Decree-Law No. 187/2007, of May 10, which defines the legal regime of protection in the eventualities of disability and old age.
As in Spain, the decision depends on the evaluation of the functional impact of disease and not just clinical diagnosis. When the Social Security Disabilities Verification System concludes that a beneficiary is total and definitely unable to practice any profession, an absolute disability pension may be attributed to him, corresponding to 100% of the reference remuneration.
In practice, a clinical picture of chronic schizophrenia aggravated by substance dependence could also, in Portugal, justify a decision similar to the Spanish, provided that the total and permanent disability for work is duly proven.
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