A WOMAN suffering from heart problems has won her right to disability pensions after being initially refused by the State Social Security Department.
The Supreme Court, which was highly critical of the State Medical Council, ruled in favour of Katia Papadopoulou, who had her request denied twice by the social security office in 2004 and 2005.
Supreme Court Judge Takis Eliades noted it was not the first time that the Medical Council, which examines applications for disability pensions, had wrongly turned down people applying for state benefit because of health problems.
According to the woman’s appeal, she had sent a letter to the social security department on September 23, 2004 requesting help from the government because she had been forced to stop working in May 2004 due to constant heart problems.
Papadopoulou, a university graduate, had been working as a business advisor.
She then went to a doctor specialising in heart problems, who made a report on her medical condition.
The doctor’s report had specifically stated that she was incapable of employment because of her health condition.
A second request was sent to the social security department on November 3, 2005 with the doctor’s report attached, along with another medical report from a second doctor.
Papadopoulou was also involved in a serious car crash back in 2000 and she had sustained serious injuries to her back and neck.
The second report stated that Papadopoulou needed a strenuous series of therapy for her neck and back problems to be fixed, but that it was impossible because of her heart condition.
Two more reports were also attached from other medical experts, all adding that she was unfit for work, including a lengthy report from American Heart Institute.
Papadopoulou received a reply in which she was informed that she would have to be examined by the Medical Council.
On December 13, 2005, Papadopoulou was given an examination by a doctor of the Medical Council and was stunned to hear that the doctor had deduced that she was not incapable of employment and that her request was turned down on December 16, 2005.
The rejection letter read, “Dear Mr/Ms, I refer to your application on 03/11/2005 for DISABILITY PENSIONS and I inform you that it has been rejected because: you are fit for employment.”
It was then that the woman decided to take legal action against the social security department, arguing that they had made an insufficient examination of her medical condition.
Judge Eliades agreed: “The way in which the Medical Council report was issued, it is abundantly clear that the report of Dr A. Kythreotou, who noted that the appellant was unfit for employment, was not taken into consideration.”
The judge went on to say that the Medical Council did not take into consideration all that was stated by the other experts.
“The huge gaps and inconclusiveness [of the report] raises questions as to the efficiency of the study and level of trust of the Medical Council, which deemed the appellant as capable to perform duties of employment.”
Judge Eliades added that he had also examined previous cases that pinpointed similar successful appeals against the Medical Council.
