National Insurance to review benefits: A precedent-setting court ruling
The Labor Court has ruled that a police officer injured while exiting a service vehicle in his home parking lot is entitled to have the incident recognized as a work-related accident. The court determined the return home was necessary to retrieve keys required for his duties.
The Regional Labor Court in Tel Aviv has accepted the claim of an Israel Police officer seeking to have his injury recognized as a work-related accident after he fell while exiting a service vehicle in his home parking lot. Judge Osnat Robovitch-Barkash ruled that, under the circumstances, the incident constitutes a work-related accident and ordered the appointment of a medical expert to examine the causal link between the injury and the event.
According to court documents, the 34-year-old plaintiff, a field patrol and traffic enforcement officer, discovered on February 5, 2024, that he had forgotten a set of functional keys at home required for his continued duties. Consequently, he drove his service vehicle home to retrieve them.
According to his account, which the court accepted, he twisted his ankle while attempting to exit the parked vehicle, lost his balance, and fell, sustaining injuries to his head, back, and right ankle. The National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) had initially rejected his claim on the grounds that the accident occurred within the premises of his private home after his commute to work had concluded.
The court examined the evidence and determined that although the accident occurred in the home parking lot, it happened during the process of exiting the police vehicle, rather than due to any risk associated with the home courtyard itself.
"Since we are convinced that the accident occurred inside the plaintiff's vehicle and the fall was not on the plaintiff's premises but in his vehicle, and since the reason for the stop was for work purposes—to retrieve business keys he had forgotten and needed for his work—we are convinced that this is indeed a work-related accident," the verdict stated.
The court further noted that the vehicle was a large, elevated police model with a high step, which the plaintiff does not typically drive. This was deemed an external factor contributing to the injury.
The court concluded that the plaintiff met the burden of proof required for the appointment of a medical expert. The issue of legal costs will be decided following the expert opinion, and both parties have the right to appeal to the National Labor Court within 30 days.
