Broke her shoulder at a bar, and will be compensated with a quarter of a million shekels

The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court recently ruled that a young woman who broke her shoulder after tripping over an obstacle placed by the municipality in a bar area will be compensated with approximately 256,000 shekels. Judge Keren Miller attributed most of the responsibility to the business and the municipality, but also determined that there was contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff, who was holding a drinking glass while walking, which distracted her from the obstacle.

The incident occurred in February 2023. The young woman, then a law graduate before her internship and now a 31-year-old lawyer, arrived with her then-partner for an outing at the "Alma Bar" in Jerusalem. She stated that she was walking with a glass of hot tea in the passage between the bar tables—which is considered a public area outside the business—and tripped over a concrete block placed by the municipality. As a result, she fell and broke her right shoulder.

The lawsuit was filed against the municipality and the bar, claiming that each contributed to the accident: the bar, due to the crowding of tables and failure to prevent the hazard, and the municipality, due to the location of the block in the public space. The woman noted that she had to delay the start of her internship due to the injury, which affected her standing at the office.

The bar argued in its defense that the responsibility lay with the municipality. Conversely, the municipality insisted that the hazard was visible and could have been noticed had the plaintiff not been focused on the glass in her hand.

Judge Miller ruled that the main responsibility (70%) lies with the defendants—distributed 70% to the bar and 30% to the municipality. Regarding the bar's share, it was determined that placing tables around the concrete block in the passage significantly increased the risk to patrons. Testimony from the bar manager, who admitted he had managed to hide two other blocks, further indicated the establishment's negligence.

Regarding the municipality, the judge noted that the color of the block, which was later removed, blended with the ground. It was also determined that with the start of light rail operations, the block was no longer necessary, and the municipality should have removed it sooner.

The judge attributed 30% of the damages to the plaintiff herself as contributory negligence, reasoning that the block was relatively large and her attention was limited by the tea glass and her partner walking in front of her. The final compensation, after deducting for contributory negligence, was set at 256,000 shekels. Additionally, the bar and the municipality were ordered to pay approximately 60,000 shekels in attorney's fees and court costs.