The worker who has been denied permanent disability by the National Social Security Institute may request a new medical leave for the same or a different ailment, as long as the primary care doctor certifies the impossibility of working. The new temporary disability opens an independent process with its own calculation of 365 days, extendable to 545, and does not prevent filing a prior claim against the denial resolution within a period of 30 business days from the notification.
When Social Security denies permanent disability and declares medical discharge, the worker is obliged to return to his job, as explained by lawyer Pablo Ródenas. If your health condition worsens or a new illness appears that prevents you from working, the primary care doctor is authorized to issue a new sick leave report, without the regulations establishing any waiting period between the discharge of the previous process and the start of a new one.
For the purposes of the benefit, the new temporary disability starts from scratch. The company once again has the obligation to contribute and the mutual insurance company or Social Security pay the contributory benefit in ordinary terms.
When is it considered a relapse of the previous process
Article 169.2 of the General Social Security Law establishes that a new medical discharge caused by the same or similar pathology within 180 calendar days following discharge is considered a relapse, provided that a new process has not been initiated for a different reason. When Social Security classifies the new withdrawal as a relapse, the benefit is computed as a continuation of the previous process and the days are added to the total calculation.
However, the Supreme Court has qualified this rule in its ruling 527/2023, issued in a unification of doctrine, in which it determines that Social Security cannot automatically reject a new benefit for temporary disability when the worker suffers a relapse of the same ailment after having exhausted a long-term medical leave. The high court requires that the Administration justify with objective medical criteria that the worker has recovered his or her working capacity; If you do not do so, you must recognize the benefit even if 180 days have not passed since discharge and the pathology is identical.
This High Court case affected a worker who had exhausted the 545 days of temporary disability due to anxiety and, one month after the denial of permanent disability, received new sick leave for the same condition. Social Security may deny it, but only if it explains and justifies, based on objective medical data that the clinical picture has submitted. To reinforce the worker’s position, it is advisable that the sick leave report clearly include the new pathology or aggravation.
Previous claim and new cancellation, parallel procedures
In the event that Social Security denies a temporary disability after a negative resolution, the worker has 30 days to file a prior claim under article 71 of the Law regulating Social Jurisdiction. If the claim is rejected, the next step is to file a claim before the Social Court, also within 30 days.
Likewise, the presentation of a new medical leave does not affect these deadlines nor does it suspend them. Previous claim and new temporary disability are independent procedures that can be processed simultaneously, an option that many lawyers advise to prove that the medical condition persists or has worsened after the denial. If the worker exhausts the 545 days again, the process is again submitted to the Disability Assessment Team, which will issue a new resolution based on the accredited stabilized consequences.