Trial in Feldkirch

Plaintiff: “I simply can’t take any more”

For Rita Salzer, the verdict of the regional court is a slap in the face: "As a sick person in Austria, I feel harassed and discriminated against by the system."

(Bild: Chantal Dorn)

In civil proceedings against the Pension Insurance Institution (PVA), a 58-year-old woman from Bregenz has finally lost her case. Despite various illnesses, she is not allowed to receive a disability pension. The case just makes you shake your head.

Now it's final. The woman from Bregenz, who has been seriously ill with osteoporosis for years, is not allowed to receive a disability pension! That is the result of the third hearing in the civil proceedings on Tuesday in Feldkirch. The basis for the dismissal of the case is a further neurological and orthopaedic expert report, which the court had commissioned in December - as reported by the "Krone". In the report, the respective experts again came to the conclusion that the 58-year-old could reasonably be expected to work 20 percent, i.e. eight hours a week, under certain conditions.

For the claimant represented by the Chamber of Labor, this is a resounding slap in the face: "Due to my very advanced osteoporosis, I can't even walk without crutches. I also have skin cancer, hearing loss, high blood pressure and depression. I simply can't go on," says the 58-year-old, stunned. This not only raises the question of what job the woman could still do, but also what opportunities are available: Who hires someone who will continue to spend several weeks a year on sick leave and whose condition is visibly worsening? "They always start from theory, but in practice that's not feasible," says the claimant, annoyed by the experts' assessment.

Due to my very advanced osteoporosis, I can't even walk without crutches. I also have skin cancer, hearing loss, high blood pressure and depression. I simply can't go on.

Rita Salzer

The PVA, as the defendant, did not see itself as having a duty to give in to the case and send the woman from Bregenz a disability pension. And this despite the fact that the woman already has 500 (!) months of insurance. The 58-year-old's frustration is therefore understandable: "As a sick person in Austria, I feel harassed and discriminated against by the system." But there is still a long way to go before her statutory retirement on December 1, 2027. In any case, giving up is out of the question for the visibly marked woman. "I will lodge an appeal and go to the Higher Regional Court in Innsbruck. If that doesn't help, it will be a case for the court in Vienna."