Defence clarifies: Casillas did not receive €1.5m from insurer | OneFootball

The defense of former FC Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas clarified this Thursday that insurer Fidelidade did not pay any compensation or benefit to the former footballer following the acute myocardial infarction he suffered in May 2019.

In a statement sent to Lusa news agency, Casillas’s legal representatives explain that Fidelidade considered that the heart attack suffered by the then FC Porto player on May 1, 2019, “did not constitute a workplace accident,” which is why it made no payment under the relevant compensation scheme, or on any other grounds.

The defense adds that the amount of 1.5 million euros (ME) referred to in the proceedings, which have been ongoing since October 2021 at the Porto Labor Court, corresponds to the annual salary reported by FC Porto to the insurer for the purpose of defining contractual liability.

The lawyers stress that this amount “in no way means that it was transferred by Fidelidade to Mr. Iker Casillas,” since that would imply recognition of the existence of a workplace accident, precisely the issue currently being examined in court.

The clarification comes at a time when the trial is continuing in the lawsuit in which the former Spanish international seeks to have the heart attack he suffered during an FC Porto training session classified as a workplace accident.

According to the initial petition, Casillas is demanding that Fidelidade pay 750,821.91 euros for total temporary incapacity and 1,521,780.82 euros for permanent total incapacity for his usual work (IPATH), amounts calculated based on the annual salary of 1.5 million euros reported by FC Porto to the insurer.

The former goalkeeper is also asking FC Porto to assume the portion of the compensation that he believes is not covered by the insurance contract, requesting an additional payment of 491,570.32 euros related to total temporary incapacity and 996,324.50 euros relating to IPATH.

In addition to these amounts, he is also seeking payment of future medical and medication expenses associated with the aftereffects of the heart attack, as well as the redemption capital of the annual pension to be set by the court.

At the second hearing of the trial, held on Monday, cardiologist Natália António, an expert appointed by the Medico-Legal Council at the time the expert report was drawn up, stated that the training session carried out by Casillas on the morning of the heart attack was intense enough to be capable of acting as a triggering factor for the rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque, but rejected that it was the main cause of the cardiac episode.

According to the specialist, the origin of the heart attack was a pre-existing coronary atherosclerotic disease, while still admitting that physical exertion may have acted as the “trigger” for the episode.

The expert also explained that an immediate temporal coincidence between physical exertion and plaque rupture is not necessary, and that there may be an interval between the two.

She also added that, after the heart attack, Casillas went from a low cardiovascular risk situation to a very high-risk one, considering that he does not meet the conditions to return to top-level competition.

The doctor also said that the disease carries a greater risk of arrhythmias, an increased likelihood of sudden death, and functional limitations.

According to Jornal Público, at the first hearing of the trial, held on June 8, Casillas reported that he began to feel unwell during an FC Porto training session, describing chest pain, difficulty breathing, and intense fatigue, before being taken to the hospital, where he underwent a catheterization procedure to unblock a coronary artery.

According to the former Spanish international, the heart attack ended his professional career and left him with permanent limitations. “I can’t run, I can manage maybe 20 or 50 meters. No more than that,” he said at the time in court.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.