Time limit for revision of occupational inury insurance settlement
Supreme Court judgment 4 December 2020, HR-2020-2332-A, (case no. 20-026604SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
A (Counsel Robin Pedersen Brauti) v. Gjensidige Forsikring ASA (Counsel Kjell Mandal)
Justices: Skoghøy, Bull, Arntzen, Østensen Berglund, Steinsvik
An employee sustained a serious occupational injury in 2001, was granted occupational injury compensation under the employer's insurance, based on a 60% disability. After having been granted full disability pension by NAV in 2016, she demanded a revision of the settlement under the occupational injury insurance with reference to section 36 of the Contracts Act. The Supreme Court found that the right to post settlement is exhaustively regulated in section 5-1 of the Occupational Injury Regulations, if the claim is based on such circumstances as are mentioned in the provision. Then, the five-year limitation period is applicable, and section 36 of the Contracts Act cannot be invoked after the limitation period has expired. Decisive emphasis was placed on the provision's wording balanced against the preparatory works to the Regulations and two subsequent legislative reports. It was specified that general contract law rules may be applicable if a claim for post-settlement is based on circumstances other than those regulated in section 5-1 of the Regulations. The appeal against the Court of Appeal's judgment in favour of the insurer was dismissed.