Work-related accidents

Accidents in the workplace

The law defines an occupational accident as an accident involving an insured, arising in the course or as a result of their work.

This very brief description has been updated to take account of Luxembourg case law, which states that work-related accidents are characterised by the sudden action due to an external cause, resulting in bodily harm to a human being in the course of their work. The criterion of 'suddenness' means that it is possible to establish the exact time of the accident event, and to make a distinction between an accident and an illness, which develop gradually over time.

The sudden appearance of a physical injury, in the course of work and in the workplace, constitutes a work-related accident, unless the Accident Insurance Association (AAA) can prove that the harm was due to a cause other than the insured professional activity. The burden of proof as regards the conditions of time and place lies with the insured.

Commuting accidents

Work-related accidents also include accidents that occur on the way to or from:

• the insured's main residence, or their stable secondary residence, or any other place where the insured regularly goes for family reasons, and their place of work;
• the insured's place of work and a restaurant, canteen or, more generally, a place where the insured usually has their meals.

For this journey, the insured does not have to take the most direct route, provided the detour is required for the purposes of regular car sharing, or to drop off or pick up a child living with the insured at/from a third party to whom the child is entrusted for the insured to be able to do their job.

Work-related accidents do not include commuting accidents that the insured caused or contributed to as a result of their gross negligence, or if the journey was interrupted or diverted for reasons of personal interest, or reasons other than the essential necessities of everyday life, or reasons outside the scope of the insured activity.

Social Security Code Art. 93

Reporting work-related accidents

Except in duly substantiated exceptional circumstances, any insured who is the victim of a work-related or commuting accident must immediately notify their employer. The employer or its representative must report the accident to the AAA and provide all of the information requested in the prescribed accident report form. The accident report form must be signed by the employer or its representative.

If an accident report is not sent to the AAA, the person claiming to have been the victim of an accident has one year to submit a claim. The AAA will ask the person responsible for filing the report to state their position before reaching a decision.

If the AAA refuses to consider a reported accident as a work-related or commuting accident, the victim of the accident will be notified.