The law of Work Hazards sanctioned in the 1990s with the idea of avoiding the proliferation of lawsuits against companies has failed to reduce labor litigationas noted by the Superintendent of Occupational Risks, Gustavo Morón.
The official spoke within the framework of the Colloquium of the Center for Research on Insurance Development (CIDES) that takes place at the Alvear HotelThe theme of the meeting is precisely the impact of litigation on insurance activity.
The official said that “Law 27,348 was intended to regulate litigation” when it was passed in the 1990s. In this regard, he recalled that a reduction had been achieved from 120,000 annual labour lawsuits to just 40,000.
“Today unfortunately We are back to a balance of 120,000 trials. The solution is to comply with the law,” said the official, who noted that “We need the commitment of all the actors in the system” to reduce that burden.
Much of the problem, The insurers point out that this is because the provincial courts, where the labor jurisdiction is located, do not follow the doctrine of the Supreme Court, At the same time, in the interior districts, medical commissions are not formed to determine the degree of damage suffered by a worker in the event of an accident or illness.
Similarly, it is noted that the lower courts of other jurisdictions do not follow the doctrine of the higher court, for example, in the application of interest rates to adjust the value of compensation.
In this regard, CIDES President Alejandro Simón said that “what most affects insurers is the disparity in the judicial criteria” that different courts take. “Different rulings in similar cases and Liability update mechanisms that threaten the financial stability of the sector“, he explained.
Simón warned that “there are no provinces that have made progress” in the constitution of the medical commissions provided for in the scheme of expert fees for work disability trials of the Occupational Risk Law. He also maintained that the mechanism of Mandatory mediation “has proven ineffective” to prevent conflicts from “ending in legal proceedings.”
The Supreme Court’s view
In this regard, the Supreme Court MinisterRicardo Lorenzetti, He said that Argentina “needs institutional planning” to avoid the “excessive litigation”which is why he advocated the creation of pre-judicial processes, in order to ensure that not all conflicts reach the courts.
The magistrate referred to the “excessive litigation” which implies that “conflicts lead to litigation, when they are not the same.”There may be many conflicts, it is natural, but not all of that flow has to go to the Judiciary,” he explained.
In this regard, the judge pointed out that “in Argentina we are used to problems not being resolved, rather they are transferred, and we have talked about litigation countless times and we have never resolved it.”
There are two million car accidents a year
According to industry data, Although the proportion of accidents is very high, almost all incidents are resolved in an administrative instance. or mediation. Only 1.6% of cases end up in court.
Guillermo Plate, Superintendent of Insurance, said that companies have to explain to their clients that “this is a system” in which there are regulations and standards that companies have to comply with.
According to the regulator, it must be made clear to insurers that “the purpose of the insurance contract is to pay claims” and that ““what is being prosecuted is the pathological.”
Source: Ambito
