The Superior Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha has ruled in favor of a worker so that she has the right to receive absolute permanent disability due to myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. Social Security had denied it, alleging that his injuries were not susceptible to objective determination. For this reason, you will be entitled to a lifetime pension of 2,773.76 euros per month, that is, 100% of your regulatory base.
According to the ruling (consultable in the Judiciary), the affected person, born in 1989 and who worked as an administrative assistant with computer program programming tasks, began to suffer from a clinical condition diagnosed as myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome. This caused him anxiety and depression problems derived from his situation, and a strong sensitivity to light that makes it impossible for him to tolerate the use of screens. Due to these pathologies that affected his work and in general his quality of life, he asked Social Security to recognize his permanent disability, which was denied.
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The Disability Assessment Team or Medical Court decided this, since in its opinion “he did not present anatomical or functional reductions that would reduce or nullify his work capacity.” Not being satisfied and after a failed claim, he decided to file a lawsuit and go to court in order to have his absolute disability recognized, since, in practice, his conditions prevented him from developing the core of any profession.
Right to absolute permanent disability
In court, both the Social Court number 1 of Ciudad Real and later the Superior Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha agreed, deciding that the worker has the right to absolute permanent disability. For both courts, the injuries made it impossible for her to develop any profession, leaving her qualified only for the tasks inherent to her own care. Thus, the worker will have the right to a lifetime pension corresponding to 100% of her regulatory base set at 2,773.76 euros per month.
The magistrates point out in the resolution, based on the report of the expert who attended the trial, that the woman “had reached a point where she was severely affected, given that she could not leave the house, she could not drive, and she was suffering from physical and mental exhaustion that prevented her from carrying out any activity other than self-care.” In short, the court concludes that the plaintiff has more than proven “that she is prevented from carrying out a professional task with the dedication, perseverance and effort necessary for its correct and regular development.”
What is chronic fatigue syndrome
Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome is a complex and highly disabling pathology that completely reduces the energy of those who suffer from it. In the case of the protagonist of this sentence, the medical condition causes symptoms that prevent her from leading a normal active life. Among the most notable conditions of the failure are:
- Extreme physical and mental fatigue.
- “Brain fog”, which results in significant losses of memory, concentration and attention.
- Intolerance to screens.
- Photophobia and phonophobia (extreme sensitivity to light and sound).
- Constant headaches and blockages.
As with other invisible or complex pathologies such as fibromyalgia or certain autoimmune disorders, permanent disability is not always granted through rapid administrative means. The reason is that the Medical Court assesses how the symptoms impact each person and not the disease itself, since Social Security does not have an automatic list that guarantees a pension just for having a diagnosis.
This means that each case must be studied in a very individualized manner. Even so, as this ruling reflects, the INSS decision is not the last word, and in case of disagreement, the affected people may end up finding protection through judicial means.