Belgian Court Awards Moroccan Bank Worker 100% Disability After 13-Year Fight with AXA
A Belgian court has ruled in favor of a former Moroccan employee of Chaabi Bank after a long battle with his insurer. Originally from Oujda, he has secured recognition of permanent incapacity for work at 100%, despite AXA’s objections.
His story began on October 5, 2010, at a Chaabi Bank branch on Boulevard du Midi in Brussels. Three armed men burst into the premises and forced employees to lie on the floor. Among them was Amine, a father of five from Oujda who had arrived in Belgium after studying economics in Morocco. “I was more frightened than I’ve ever been in my life,” he told La Dernière Heure, which uses an assumed first name to protect his anonymity.
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Three years later, while returning from work, the bank teller fell into a basement lightwell whose grate had been removed. He landed in a cellar two to three meters below and briefly lost consciousness. The next day, the emergency department found only bruising to his ribs and legs. Yet Amine would never be able to return to his job.
His personal circumstances quickly deteriorated. The following month, his wife left him with their children. In 2014, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Doctors identified delayed-onset post-traumatic stress disorder, linked in particular to the effects of the robbery, the fall and family hardships. Medical assessments described a man suffering from severe psychological problems, unable to drive, manage his administrative affairs on his own or even use public transport.
AXA ordered to pay despite divorce and cancer
In 2016, however, insurer AXA deemed Amine recovered without lasting effects and ended its financial support. The company argued that his depression was also caused by his divorce, separation from his children and cancer. It noted that the fall had initially caused only minor injuries.
Lawyer Jean-Paul Tieleman then brought the case before the French-speaking labor court of Brussels on August 22, 2016. The first ruling came in 2024 and was upheld by the labor appeals court in 2026.
The court applied a key principle of Belgian workplace accident law: when an accident contributes, even partially, to permanent incapacity, the insurer must compensate the incapacity as a whole, including when other factors have contributed to the victim’s deteriorating condition. Disputes over disability benefits in Belgium can therefore lead to rulings of particular importance for policyholders.
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In Amine’s case, the court recognized 100% permanent incapacity for work and ordered AXA to pay benefits and allowances calculated on the basis of his earnings, plus late-payment interest. According to La Dernière Heure, the amounts owed total several tens of thousands of euros. The ruling comes sixteen years after the robbery and thirteen years after his fall into the lightwell.
