Employee must substantiate that heart disease is caused by food poisoning during work

An employee of an oil industry company was food poisoned on a work trip to Indonesia. Some time later it was discovered that he had inflammation of the heart muscle - myocarditis. He submitted a claim to the employer's insurance company for the heart condition to be approved as an occupational injury, as it was caused by the food poisoning he had contracted during the work trip. Like the previous instances and with support in Rt-2012-1864, the Supreme Court found that the rule of presumption in the favour of the employee in section 11 subsection 2 of the Occupational Injury Insurance Act applies when there is a disease as mentioned in subsection 1 (b) – a so-called listed disease – but that the employee must substantiate that there is a listed disease. It is not sufficient that such a connection is medically possible. The employee's failure to substantiate such a connection was finally decided by the Court of Appeal. The appeal against the Court of Appeal's judgment was dismissed.

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only)

Area of law: Occupational injury insurance, section 11 of the Occupation Injury Insurance Act, section 1 (H) of the Occupational Disease Regulations

Key paragraphs: 50-51, 57-58

Justices: Ringnes, Arntzen, Østensen Berglund, Thyness, Hellerslia