A formwork carpenter saw the Lisbon Court of Appeal confirm the recognition of absolute permanent disability for usual work, even after insurer Caravela — Insurance Company appealed arguing that the worker, 66 years old, was already retired. The accident occurred on November 22, 2019 and, after clinical discharge in August 2020, the carpenter was initially left with a partial permanent disability of 6.52%, having returned to work and continued exercising the activity until 2023.
In 2024, the worker requested a review of the disability, represented by the Public Prosecutor's Office. The new medical assessment recognized a worsening of sequelae, increasing the disability to 13.0392%, and the medical board concluded, by majority, that there was absolute permanent disability for usual work, which prevented him from exercising the profession of formwork carpenter. The expert representing the insurer disagreed with this classification.
The insurer appealed claiming that the retirement situation prevented the recognition of absolute disability, but the Court of Appeal considered that the assessment should take as reference the functions performed at the date of the accident, regardless of the current professional situation. The court explained that the law does not prevent a retired worker from requesting a review of disability and that permanent disability pension is cumulative with other pensions.
In addition to rejecting the appeal, the Court of Appeal corrected the pension calculation, which had been set at €12,606.31 annually at first instance. Taking into account that the carpenter earned an annual salary of €26,600 at the date of the accident, the court recalculated and set €14,831.20 annually with effects from February 2024 and €15,216.81 annually from January 2025. The decision also maintained the €4,251.43 subsidy and the default interest, with the appeal costs borne by the insurer.
