Judicial Expertise: Insurer’s Representative and Medical Confidentiality
The French Court of Cassation clarified on November 6, 2025 the limits of medical confidentiality during judicial expertise in traffic accident cases.
In this case, a traffic accident victim challenged the presence of a representative of her insurer during the judicial medical examination. She argued that medical confidentiality prevented their presence without her consent.
The Court ruled that:
Medical confidentiality, under Article L. 1110-4 of the French Public Health Code, applies only to healthcare professionals and does not extend to insurer representatives or lawyers.
The insurer’s representative may attend all technical aspects of the expertise, except the victim’s clinical examination, which is reserved for the victim, her lawyer, and her medical advisor.
The lawyer can assist the victim throughout the process, make observations, and protect her rights, ensuring a balance between the right to defense and the right to privacy.
This decision confirms that the presence of an insurer’s representative during technical expertise operations is compatible with the adversarial principle, while fully respecting medical confidentiality during the clinical examination.
Cass. 2e civ., 6 novembre 2025, n° 23-20.409
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