Judgment No. 4260
Decision
1. The impugned decision of 16 December 2014 is set aside.
2. The EPO shall pay the complainant 10,000 euros in moral damages.
3. The EPO shall pay the complainant 7,000 euros in costs.
4. All other claims are dismissed.
Summary
The complainant challenges the EPO’s failure to allow her access to her complete medical file and to provide her with a copy thereof in a timely manner.
Judgment keywords
Keywords
complaint allowed; decision quashed; personal file; medical records
Consideration 2
Extract:
Regarding a staff member’s request for the disclosure of her or his medical file, the Tribunal recalls that under its case law, stated for example in Judgment 4118, consideration 5, the principle of transparency as well as the individual’s right to access personal data concerning her or him mean that a staff member must be allowed full and unfettered access to her or his medical file and be provided with copies of the full file when requested (paying the associated costs as necessary). The only situation in which this rule does not apply is where specific circumstances temporarily prevent such access. However, a decision to deny a staff member full access to her or his medical file temporarily must be fully justified and reasonable (see, for example, Judgment 3994, consideration 10). The Tribunal also relevantly stated, in Judgment 3120, consideration 6, that in the absence of specific rules or regulations governing the right of a staff member to access her or his own medical file, that right must be considered to comprehend the right to view and obtain copies of all records and notes in the file, and to add relevant notes to correct any part of the file considered wrong or incomplete, and that, so stated, the right to access one’s own medical file gives effect to the organisation’s duty of transparency.
Reference(s)
ILOAT Judgment(s): 3120, 3994, 4118
Keywords
disclosure of evidence; personal file; medical records
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