National Insurance Court Rules Heart Attack a Work Injury

The Regional Labor Court in Nazareth accepted a lawsuit filed by a 59-year-old factory worker against the National Insurance Institute, ruling that his heart attack on March 4, 2024, was a work-related injury. The plaintiff, employed at Kibbutz Beit Hashita's factory since 1994, experienced increased work hours and responsibilities in the month prior to the incident due to the owner's illness. On the day of the event, he discovered four colleagues were absent and was forced to cover their duties. He received news that the factory owner had a terminal illness, causing him distress, and left work early. Approximately three hours later, he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. A court-appointed cardiologist, Professor Walter Markowitz, determined there was a greater than 50% probability of a causal link between the "unusual work event" and the heart attack, despite the worker's significant risk factors including 40 years of smoking, family history of heart disease, high cholesterol, and inflammatory joint disease. The National Insurance Institute contested the cardiologist's findings, arguing insufficient weight was given to psychological stress and the plaintiff's risk factors. The court rejected these arguments, deeming the expert's opinion comprehensive and noting the proximity in time between the stressful event and the heart attack, along with the absence of prior cardiac symptoms, outweighed the risk factors. A psychiatric evaluation confirmed the worker suffers from an adjustment disorder with depressive and anxious reactions, stemming from the cardiac event, with a greater than 50% causal link and a significant impact of over 20% on his mental condition. The court adopted these findings and awarded the plaintiff 7,500 shekels in legal expenses, payable within 30 days.