The insurance company Fidelidade, representing the transport service Carris, announced the creation of an independent technical committee aimed at ensuring transparent, swift, fair, and humane compensation processes for victims of the Ascensor da Glória accident.
The Independent Technical Committee for Monitoring Compensation to Victims of the Ascensor da Glória Accident will assess the personal damages arising from the incident and validate the compensation amounts determined by Fidelidade.
Fidelidade emphasizes that the incident requires not only effective action on day-to-day issues but also the establishment of an external and independent solution to ensure the evaluation of personal injuries and the consideration of the compensation proposals put forward by the insurer. This approach is intended to reinforce the confidence of the victims and their families, both in Portugal and abroad, and to serve as a benchmark in the face of such a tragedy.
The committee is chaired by Duarte Nuno Vieira, a full professor at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Coimbra, vice-president of the European Confederation of Experts in the Evaluation and Repair of Bodily Harm, president of the Portuguese Association for the Evaluation of Bodily Harm, and the Competence in Damage Assessment in People from the Order of Doctors, and a member of the National Human Rights Commission of Portugal.
Other members include Ricardo Barroso, representing the Order of Portuguese Psychologists, and Filipe Albuquerque Matos, an associate professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Coimbra, specializing in Contract Law and Insurance Law.
The insurer states that the committee has full freedom to request necessary information to carry out its work, is responsible for evaluating compensation proposals submitted by Fidelidade, and will provide informed recommendations on them.
Fidelidade further comments that while it retains the final decision on compensations, it commits to embracing the committee’s recommendations to enhance transparency, fairness, and confidence throughout the process.
The Glória elevator, managed by Carris and under the supervision of the Lisbon Municipality, derailed on September 3, resulting in 16 fatalities and approximately 20 injuries involving both Portuguese and foreign nationals. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.
