Legal Disclaimer

§1. Scope

1. This Disclaimer is the full text of the legal disclaimer referred to by the banner displayed on the legal and administrative pages of the website eosinophilic-fasciitis.org (the “Service”), in particular on /<language>/living/work.

2. It applies to every page of the Service presenting content on employment law, social insurance, disability certification, administrative proceedings, taxation and insurance contracts — addressed from the perspective of a person diagnosed with eosinophilic fasciitis (M35.4 under ICD-10, Shulman syndrome).

3. It is referred to in §7(6) of the Terms of Service and forms part of the contractual relationship established there between the Operator — Damian “Kuljo” Kuliś — and the user of the Service (the “User”). It applies alongside the Medical Disclaimer published at /<language>/medical-disclaimer; on pages carrying both medical and legal content, both disclaimers apply together.

§2. Nature of the legal and administrative content

1. Content of the Service concerning law, statutory entitlements, administrative proceedings, taxation, social insurance and insurance contracts is informational and educational.

2. The content does not constitute:

   • legal advice or a legal opinion in any individual matter;
   • legal assistance within the meaning of the Act of 26 May 1982 — Law on the Bar or the Act of 6 July 1982 on Attorneys-at-Law;
   • tax advisory services within the meaning of the Act of 5 July 1996 on Tax Advisory Services;
   • insurance distribution within the meaning of the Act of 15 December 2017 on Insurance Distribution, or financial advice;
   • representation before a court, an administrative authority, a social insurance authority or any other body;
   • a tool for making decisions independently on employment, benefits, disability certification, taxation or insurance.

3. The content does not replace consultation with an advocate, an attorney-at-law, a tax adviser, an insurance broker or another professional authorised to advise on the matter concerned.

§3. The author

1. The Operator is a person diagnosed with M35.4 — that is, a patient. The Operator is not an advocate, attorney-at-law, tax adviser, insurance broker or financial adviser, is not entered on any roll authorising the practice of those professions, and provides no such services.

2. The legal and administrative content of the Service is the product of:

   • the Operator’s own experience as a patient with a rare disease dealing with Polish institutions;
   • a review of publicly available sources of law — statutes, regulations, case law and European Union legislation — with references where practicable;
   • a review of information and guidance published by the competent institutions, in particular the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), the National Labour Inspectorate, district family support centres, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, and the Financial Ombudsman;
   • contributions from persons who shared their knowledge and experience under the cooperation procedure set out in §6 of the Terms of Service.

3. The content of the Service does not represent the position of any law firm, professional self-governing body, insurance undertaking, social insurance authority or administrative authority, and is not produced under the editorial supervision of any such body.

§4. Decisions rest with the person concerned and their professional adviser

1. Decisions concerning the legal or administrative situation of the User or of any other person — in particular:

   • to commence, settle or discontinue any proceedings;
   • on the content and filing of any application, statement or appeal before a court, a social insurance authority, a tax authority or any other body, including an appeal against a decision of the Social Insurance Institution on sickness benefit, rehabilitation benefit or an incapacity pension, and against a ruling of a district or provincial disability assessment board;
   • to conclude, amend or terminate a contract of employment or a civil-law contract;
   • to request a reasonable accommodation or other adjustment of the workplace;
   • to conclude, amend or terminate an insurance contract;
   • to disclose health information to an insurer, an employer or another counterparty;
   • on tax settlements, reliefs and deductions;

   rest with the person concerned and, in matters of substantial weight, should be taken on the advice of an authorised professional acquainted with the full facts.

2. The User may present information obtained from the Service to an authorised professional for discussion. The User should not act independently on the basis of the content of the Service in matters of substantial legal or financial weight.

§5. Limits of accuracy and territorial scope

1. The Operator takes care to keep the legal and administrative content accurate and current, and bases it on primary sources.

2. The Operator does not warrant:

   • the completeness of the content on any of the topics addressed;
   • that the content reflects the law in force — provisions, monetary thresholds, benefit rates, indexation factors, and administrative and adjudicating practice change, including annually;
   • the suitability of the content in any individual situation, in particular given differences in place of residence, basis of employment, insurance history and the terms of a particular contract;
   • the suitability of the content in legal systems other than the Polish one. The Service addresses Polish law and, where directly relevant, European Union law. The Service does not address the law of other states;
   • freedom from errors, omissions and translation inaccuracies in any of the six language versions of the Service.

3. The last-updated date shown on a page indicates the day of the Operator’s most recent substantive review of that page. The User should check whether the content has been superseded by more recent legislation, case law or administrative practice.

§6. Where to seek assistance

1. Free legal aid and civic counselling — the points operated by districts under the Act of 5 August 2015 on Free Legal Aid, Free Civic Counselling and Legal Education.

2. Employment law — the National Labour Inspectorate. Insurance and consumer financial matters — the Financial Ombudsman. Consumer matters — the municipal or district consumer ombudsman and the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. Alleged disability discrimination — the Commissioner for Human Rights.

3. Matters of substantial legal or financial weight — instruct an advocate or attorney-at-law; in tax matters, a tax adviser; and, before concluding an insurance contract, an insurance broker or another insurance distributor.

4. Time limits for appeal — the time limit and procedure for challenging a decision follow from the provisions applicable to that decision and are stated in the instruction contained in the decision or ruling. The content of the Service does not interrupt, suspend or extend any time limit.

5. The Operator gives no consultations on individual legal, administrative, tax or insurance matters and is not authorised to do so.

§7. Liability

1. The content of the Service is provided without warranty as to accuracy, completeness, fitness for a particular purpose or freedom from error.

2. The Operator’s liability for damage arising in connection with use of the Service is excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. The exclusion does not cover damage caused intentionally (Article 473 § 2 of the Polish Civil Code) or liability that cannot be excluded under mandatory provisions of law.

3. Within the limits of paragraph 2, the Operator is not liable for:

   • decisions taken by the User, an employer, an insurer, a social insurance authority, an administrative authority, a court or any other person on the basis of the content of the Service, or for their consequences, including refusal of a benefit, termination of employment, refusal of an insurance payment, missing a time limit or an unfavourable outcome of a case;
   • the accuracy or currency of third-party sources cited or linked in the Service;
   • changes in legislation, case law and administrative practice occurring after the last-updated date of a page.

4. In the event of any discrepancy between this Disclaimer and §7 of the Terms of Service, the provision more favourable to the User prevails.

§8. Amendments and contact

1. The Operator may amend this Disclaimer. Amendments are announced by updating the version number and effective date shown at the head of the document and by maintaining a change history in the publicly available source-code repository of the Service. Material amendments are additionally announced visibly on the Service for 14 days before they take effect.

2. Questions about this Disclaimer may be sent to contact@eosinophilic-fasciitis.org and, on data protection matters, to rodo@eosinophilic-fasciitis.org. Correspondence address: ul. Jarosława Dąbrowskiego 18/6, 02-561 Warsaw, Poland.