A legal silver lining for families affected by disability

No medical opinion without a medical examination. That's how we might sum up the position of the Conseil supérieur de la sécurité sociale (Higher Council for Social Security) in its ruling of 17 November last – and if this sentence sounds like a tautology, an obvious truth, it's apparently still not so obvious to Zukunftskeess.

This ruling brings to a close a case whose origins were reported in the Lëtzebuerger Journal. Matilda* (first name changed by the editors, edn.), born with several malformations of the jaw and one ear, had her supplementary special allowance withdrawn in spring 2024. The Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants (CAE) had reassessed her disability and considered – without having her examined by a doctor – that it had partly disappeared. As Matilda was no longer considered to have a disability of more than 50 per cent compared to other children her age, she was no longer qualified for the supplementary special allowance. Although her parents protested and submitted additional medical certificates, the CAE upheld its position through a presidential decision. Matilda's parents had no choice but to challenge this refusal before the courts, namely the Conseil arbitral de la sécurité sociale.