National Insurance Institute to pay extended benefits: this is the significant decision that was made
Less than 24 hours after an argument with his employer about a work trip, a truck driver suffered a stroke. The court accepted the expert's opinion and recognized the incident as a work-related accident, despite the opposition of the National Insurance Institute.
A truck driver who argued with his employer about a night trip to Ashdod suffered a stroke shortly thereafter. The Regional Labor Court in Nazareth ruled that in the circumstances of the case, there is a causal link between the unusual incident at work and the cerebral hemorrhage, and therefore recognized the incident as a work-related accident for the purposes of the National Insurance Institute.
According to the claim published on the "Bizportal" website, the driver, aged about 60, worked as a semi-trailer driver for a transport company. In February 2022, the employer informed him that he had to make a trip to Ashdod that night, instead of his regular work in the northern region. The driver asked to avoid the trip due to a blood test scheduled for the next morning, and the two argued about the matter. Eventually, he agreed to set out.
After a few hours of rest, the driver set out on the trip, but in the Karmiel area, he began to feel a severe headache, stopped on the side of the road, and called for help. He was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a stroke. The National Insurance Institute initially rejected his claim for injury benefits, arguing that no accidental event had occurred at work and that there was no connection between his work and his medical condition.
The court appointed an expert in the field of neurology, who determined that the stroke occurred within less than 24 hours of the argument at work. His opinion stated that mental stress can increase blood pressure and contribute to the onset of a hemorrhage, and that in this case, it is more likely that the unusual incident at work contributed to the hemorrhage occurring at the time it did.
After receiving clarification from the expert, the court adopted his conclusions and ruled that the causal link between the stroke and the unusual incident at work must be recognized. The verdict emphasized that these are unique and specific circumstances of the case, and the National Insurance Institute was ordered to pay the driver 5,000 shekels for attorney's fees within 30 days.
