Legal issue
The suspect in the case of payment of the provincial infirmary brought a cassation action to the ultimate Court against the adverse judgement of the second instance.
He requested the resolution of the legal question of the anticipation of taking the order of the Minister of wellness of 4.9.2020 (hereinafter: ‘the advice of 4.9.2020’), addressed by the National wellness Fund (NFZ), as a origin of law commonly in force, giving emergence to the work to act on the part of certain medicinal entities and consequently as a origin of claims by the individual cooperating with the medicinal entity.
In the event of an affirmative reply, the suspect expressed additional uncertainty as to whether the amount of the benefit paid by the medicinal entity to the individual providing wellness benefits could be reduced proportionally on the basis of the criteria indicated in the request.
He besides pointed out, in the same context, the request to interpret Article 10a(1) of the Act of 2.3.2020 on circumstantial solutions related to the prevention, prevention and eradication of Covid-19, another infectious diseases and the resulting crisis situations, that provision is no longer in force (Journal of Laws of 2020 item 374) and Article 415 KC.
Background
The cassation complaint was brought by the suspect infirmary in a case for payment from the plaintiff working in that infirmary on the contract.
The plaintiff has worked in the suspect infirmary since July 2020 in the neurological/corruption ward. She besides served on work in the E.R., S.R., and another wards. All patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection. If the consequence was positive, the plaintiff made a diagnosis and made a decision on possible hospitalization.
The provincial infirmary was qualified as a level II infirmary of security.
In September 2020, the Minister of wellness issued an order for the NFZ to supply the alleged "additional benefit" to healthcare providers, i.e. additional backing for medical professionals participating in the provision of wellness benefits and having direct contact with patients with suspected or infected SARS-CoV-2 virus. The command was amended in November 2020.
The plaintiff had direct contact with the infected virus who were in the neurological ward.
The plaintiff received a covid supplement erstwhile for May 2021. Although in the remaining months it besides fulfilled the conditions for the payment of an additional benefit, it was not paid.
Therefore, she called on the infirmary to pay her PLN 100,000 for damages due to the failure to notify the plaintiff to the NFZ as a individual entitled to the payment allowance for doctors in connection with the provision of wellness benefits to patients or suspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The infirmary refused to pay, so the plaintiff appeared against him with a lawsuit.
The court of First Instance ruled for her the amount of PLN 100,000 plus interest. The suspect made an appeal, raising the charge of not recognizing the merits of the case, as well as material and procedural charges. The court of the second instance, after examining the hospital's appeal, dismissed the appeal.
The court held that the suspect had misinterpreted the provisions of the agreement with the NFZ and had failed to notify the plaintiff as a individual entitled to the covid allowance. This omission was unlawful and unlawful and led to the exclusion of the claimant of the service due. The existence of an adequate causal link between the event causing the harm and the defendant's faulty conduct manifested in the failure to study the plaintiff as a individual entitled to the covid allowance could besides not rise doubt.
Supreme Court Settlement
The ultimate Court refused to accept a cassation complaint for examination.
He indicated that:
- The question of the legal nature of the order of the Minister of wellness of 4.9.2020 does not constitute novum and was the subject of an analysis in the case law of the ultimate Court – the order could not be qualified as a origin of labour law within the meaning of Article 9 of the NAP, but constituted an interior act (Article 93 of the Polish Constitution), imposing certain obligations on the NFZ;
- the instruction did not constitute the legal basis for the work of the medicinal entity to pay the supplementary benefit to the medical staff employed by it, but the defendant’s work could only arise as a consequence of the NFZ’s actions under the order of 4.9.2020;
- relating to the admissibility of reducing the covid additive, The ultimate Court pointed out that this question was simply formulated as a consequence of the answer to the first part of the question, which prevented it from referring to it at the phase of its ruling on the adoption of the cassation action to be examined;
- However, the SN indicated that in worker cases it was foregone that the benefit provided for by the order of 4.9.2020 was a circumstantial benefit for medical professionals and gathering the conditions for their acquisition, financed by public funds and at a certain amount, for these reasons it is not acceptable to reduce it proportionally depending on the working hours in direct contact with the patient with suspected infections or infected SARS-CoV-2 virus;
- the another questions and considerations of the complainant did not lead to the conclusion that the explanation doubts presented exceed the typical problems of explanation of the law in the judicial process.
In the end, it was considered that the legal issue formulated was not fresh and was not applicable for the improvement of the law. In the case of a cassation complaint, the problem must be presented abstractly, but related to a circumstantial case. It is besides essential to indicate the arguments leading to divergent assessments of the same issue. Only under specified conditions can there be grounds for accepting a cassation complaint. Otherwise, as in the present case, there are no grounds for accepting a cassation complaint.
Order of the SN — civilian Chamber of 10.4.2026, I CSK 2210/25, Legalis
