A work accident due to poor work methods and a verdict in an indemnity claim from the National Insurance Institute

Sep 24, 2019

Tel Aviv 605-12-15 By: Itzick Simon "The blood of foreign construction workers has been spilled repeatedly on Israeli work sites. This court alone has heard many claims over the years due to such work accidents" (from the ruling). It's no secret that the construction industry is one of the most dangerous to the economy in terms of workers. Most serious and fatal work accidents occur on construction sites, and the definition of the issue as a "state scourge" is, unfortunately, an accurate definition. Although work injury insurance is paid by the National Insurance Institute, employers and their insurers often find themselves on the defendant's bench. An example of this can be seen in the following case, which deals with a serious work accident in which a foreign worker from China was injured. Get a quote Customized for you

Circumstances of the incident - A foreign worker from China working on a construction site was injured by a formwork that came loose from a crane cable. The accident occurred as a result of poor work practices, in which the hoisted formwork was held in place with improvised means, instead of using safety brackets for the anchors.

The parties to the proceedings – The claim was filed by the worker and the National Insurance Institute, against the manpower company that brought the worker to Israel, the contracting company that performed the work, and its insurance company. A third-party notice was sent to the manpower company's insurer.

Who is to blame and who will pay? The court dismissed the claim against the staffing company after it was proven that it sent a skilled and experienced worker to the project, who was hired at a job site where safety equipment and work procedures were generally adhered to. From an "external" perspective, it was determined that the staffing company was entitled to rely on the fact that it was an orderly and safe site. Especially because, as a staffing company, it does not have professional knowledge of construction safety.

Tel Aviv 605-12-15

By: Itzick Simon

"The blood of foreign construction workers has been spilled repeatedly on Israeli work sites. This court alone has heard many claims over the years due to such work accidents" (from the ruling).

It's no secret that the construction industry is one of the most dangerous to the economy in terms of workers. Most serious and fatal work accidents occur on construction sites, and the definition of the issue as a "state scourge" is, unfortunately, an accurate definition.

Although work injury insurance is paid by the National Insurance Institute, employers and their insurers often find themselves on the defendant's bench. An example of this can be seen in the following case, which deals with a serious work accident in which a foreign worker from China was injured. Get a quote
Customized for you

Circumstances of the incident - A foreign worker from China working on a construction site was injured by a formwork that came loose from a crane cable. The accident occurred as a result of poor work practices, in which the hoisted formwork was held in place with improvised means, instead of using safety brackets for the anchors.

The parties to the proceedings – The claim was filed by the worker and the National Insurance Institute, against the manpower company that brought the worker to Israel, the contracting company that performed the work, and its insurance company. A third-party notice was sent to the manpower company's insurer.

Who is to blame and who will pay? The court dismissed the claim against the staffing company after it was proven that it sent a skilled and experienced worker to the project, who was hired at a job site where safety equipment and work procedures were generally adhered to. From an "external" perspective, it was determined that the staffing company was entitled to rely on the fact that it was an orderly and safe site. Especially because, as a staffing company, it does not have professional knowledge of construction safety.

Court decision

The court ruled that the contracting company was negligent , and that its insurance company would bear the required compensation. This was due to what was defined in the ruling as "defective work methods."

How much will be paid? The court awarded the plaintiff 600,000 shekels in lost earnings, 250,000 shekels for pain and suffering, as well as legal costs and additional expenses at 20% of the amount.

Another important point: Since this was a work accident, the plaintiff simultaneously conducted a procedure to exercise his rights with the National Insurance Institute, and received compensation in the amount of approximately 1.7 million shekels. That is, more than the amount of compensation awarded to him in the civil lawsuit for the contractor's negligence. In these situations, in order to prevent a situation of "double compensation", the injured party is not entitled to the full amount, but only to 25% of it, since he has already received compensation for his damages from the National Insurance Institute.
A claim for substitution from the National Insurance Institute – is expected to be filed against the contracting company, which will ultimately have to bear the full cost of the damages. If its contractor insurance policy was properly prepared and an extension was purchased to cover substitution claims from the National Insurance Institute, then the burden will fall on the insurer.

Date of the accident – December 2010.
The date of filing the lawsuit – December 2015.
Judgment date – May 2019

Work accidents are not a rare sight in the Israeli construction industry. Quite the contrary. Construction workers are at constant risk, and their rate among those injured at work is high. Especially when it comes to fatal or serious work accidents.

The above ruling teaches us several important points about the issue of work accidents in the construction industry, from the perspective of the parties involved (and their insurance policies).

First, we see that even a claim by a "simple" worker, whose salary was not very high (a little over 10,000 shekels per month in this case), can escalate due to a serious medical injury to a loss of earnings totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels. Second, even if it is a work accident, the negligent party cannot rely on the National Insurance Company to bear the consequences . It is certainly possible that a civil claim for negligence will be filed against him, either for amounts in excess of the National Insurance Company benefits, or as part of a subrogation claim during which the National Insurance Company asks him for "reimbursement" of the benefits paid to the injured party.

When purchasing a contractor insurance policy, it is important to know that personal injury claims due to work accidents on a construction site can be filed for huge amounts , and that the National Insurance Institute should not be relied upon as the source of a large amount of loot. The opposite is true. The insured should ensure, and preferably with the help of professionals, that the policy includes appropriate amounts for personal injury coverage , both in the employers' liability section and in third-party insurance, as well as cancellation of exceptions and extensions in appropriate amounts for subrogation claims by the National Insurance Institute and for personal injury from the use of mechanical engineering equipment that is not subject to mandatory insurance.