The European Communities' Court of Justice has decided that a teacher's demise due to wasp stings is considered a workplace accident.
During the second last day of summer break, an educator attended a staff gathering at a rowing club, where academic discussions took place. He initially shared with two peers that he was sensitive to bee stings but had neglected to bring his emergency treatment. He kindly requested them to monitor his condition in case he experienced a faint following a sting.
Not long after, he was bitten by a bee while enjoying coffee on the club's terrace and experienced a severe allergic reaction. Despite the efforts of his colleagues and the emergency services being summoned, he tragically passed away at the spot. The Education Committee's Administration later refuted acknowledging this incident as a work-related mishap, primarily attributing it to the teacher's personal bee allergy, which was not inherent to his job functions and thus, did not pose a "unique risk within the civil service activity".
However, the judicial court supported the widow's appeal, hence indirectly enlarging the survivor's insurance. The judge declared that the bee sting qualified as a work-related accident. Their presence at the gathering was work-related, and the bee allergy could not be categorized as a pre-existing ailment. The response to a bee sting varies based on multiple unpredictable factors, such as the quantity of venom released and the site of the sting.
To a certain extent, his negligence of forgetting his emergency pack could only be deemed as "insignificant legal omission". In the court's view, it's unclear whether he could have utilized it even if the professional emergency services were unable to save his life.
The educator stated that the following bee sting sensitivity was overlooked during the staff gathering at the rowing club. Upon being stung by a bee at the club's terrace, the teacher noted that his work-related presence and the unpredictable nature of bee sting reactions were also considered by the judicial court.
