The Superior Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha has recognized the pension of total permanent disability for his usual profession to a truck driver with heart problems. This one, in particular, had developed dilated cardiomyopathy and required an implanted defibrillator, which is why his driving license had been revoked. At first, Social Security denied him disability, arguing that he could work as a tractor driver, a job he did after falling ill. However, the court determines that his usual profession was that of a truck driver and that the subsequent work was only a residual activity derived from his illness.
The worker, born in 1969, worked as a truck driver since May 6, 2004. As stated in ruling 9/2026, he suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy with severe ventricular dysfunction, complete left bundle branch block, moderate aortic insufficiency and had an implantable automatic defibrillator (ICD).
Due to this cardiac pathology and the implantation of the ICD, in July 2021 the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) denied him the renewal of his license to drive professional vehicles (class C), retaining only class B1 and BE permits. When he was unable to drive trucks, he had to change jobs and began working as an agricultural tractor driver. Precisely because of this second job, after requesting permanent disability, the National Social Security Institute (INSS) denied him disability, in June and October 2023.
The man judicially claims permanent disability
Once the administrative route was exhausted, the truck driver filed a claim through the courts, and his claim was upheld by the Social Court No. 3 of Toledo. This court declared him in a situation of total permanent disability for his usual profession and recognized his right to a 55% lifetime pension on a regulatory basis of 1,442.33 euros.
The Social Security, not satisfied, appealed the sentence and presented an appeal before the Superior Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha. In this, he defended that the worker’s injuries allowed him to continue working and that the profession that should be valued was that of a tractor driver (which he had held since 2021), and not that of a truck driver, alleging that this was his fundamental activity in the previous months.
The TSJ confirms the total permanent disability
The Superior Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha established that the usual profession of the affected person was that of truck driver, which he carried out uninterruptedly from 2004 to 2021, considering that his work as a tractor driver was not his usual profession, but a “residual profession” that he was forced to practice after his license to drive professional vehicles was withdrawn due to his heart disease.
The court relies on jurisprudence of the Supreme Court (specifically, it cites the Judgment of September 26, 2007), which stipulates that the “habitual profession” for the purposes of qualifying for disability is that developed throughout one’s active life. Residual or lighter professions to which a worker enters at a last stage precisely as a consequence of the disabling situation or the loss of skills (in this case, the loss of the license) cannot be considered as such.
Consequently, the TSJ of Castilla-La Mancha completely dismissed the appeal filed by Social Security and confirmed the lower court ruling, thus confirming that he was a beneficiary of a total permanent disability pension for his usual profession of driving trucks. It should be noted that the pension, although it is recognized as lifetime, can be reviewed for improvement or transformed into a retirement pension later if the requirements are met.
This ruling was not final and an appeal could be filed against it for the unification of doctrine before the Supreme Court.