After 545 days on medical leave and an unsuccessful attempt to secure permanent disability, a Galician welder became embroiled in a legal dispute with the INSS. The agency ordered him back to work, but the courts disagreed and made the INSS reverse its decision.
The conflict began when the INSS denied his request for permanent disability in April 2025, despite his having lost all vision in his right eye. Soon after, his primary care doctor issued a new sick note for a mixed adjustment disorder, a psychiatric condition brought on by the ordeal. The INSS immediately rejected the new leave, arguing that it continued the same medical process and that the law required a 180-day gap before a new claim.
The court disagreed. The Galician High Court (TSJ) ruled that the psychiatric diagnosis was a separate condition, rather than a relapse or extension of the original eye injury. The judges noted that two illnesses occurring close together in time are not necessarily the same under the law.
Article 174.3 of the General Social Security Law says a new sick leave for the same or a similar illness is allowed only after 180 days have passed since the previous process ended. The INSS tried to apply this rule to every diagnosis, but the court made clear that only identical or closely related conditions trigger the waiting period. In this case, the adjustment disorder was recognized as a new clinical event, restoring the worker’s right to benefits without delay.
The welder’s medical records documented the permanent loss of vision and its serious effects on his daily life and mental health. The court’s decision forced the INSS to accept the new sick leave, allowing the worker to keep receiving payments as he recovered from the psychological impact of his injury.
Galician authorities have had to clarify the rules around sick leave and disability before. As with the earlier yacht incident off Vigo, the details matter: each case depends on the precise diagnosis and timeline, including whether institutions follow the law as written.
Later, in a separate case, a Vigo labor court granted the welder full permanent disability in October 2025, reflecting the seriousness of his condition. The TSJ’s ruling, but, addressed only the legitimacy of the psychiatric sick leave, not the broader question of long-term incapacity.
For workers facing complicated recoveries, the ruling establishes that the INSS cannot automatically block new sick leave claims by treating different medical issues as the same. Each diagnosis must be considered on its own, and safeguards against abuse cannot be used to deny real support. The decision sets limits on the system and shows that workers can hold public agencies accountable by challenging their decisions in court.
