Court Rules Myocardial Infarction at Work a Work Injury for Israeli Factory Employee

A 59-year-old factory worker in Kibbutz Beit Hashita has won a legal battle against the National Insurance Institute (Bituah Leumi), with the Regional Labor Court in Nof HaGalil-Nazareth ruling his myocardial infarction a work-related injury. The man, employed at the plant since 1994, experienced a significant increase in workload and responsibilities in the month leading up to the incident due to the owner's illness. On March 4, 2024, upon arriving at work, he discovered four colleagues were absent, further increasing his duties. He received news that the plant owner was terminally ill, causing him severe emotional distress, including crying and shouting.

He left work feeling unwell and suffered a heart attack approximately three hours later, requiring hospitalization at HaEmek Hospital in Afula. A court-appointed cardiologist, Professor Walter Markowitz, concluded that the causal link between the "unusual event at work" and the subsequent heart attack exceeded 50%, even after considering the man's significant risk factors. These included a 40-year smoking habit, a family history of heart disease, dyslipidemia, and inflammatory joint disease. The expert also considered cannabis use but deemed it irrelevant to the primary conclusion.

Bituah Leumi contested the findings, arguing that risk factors and the plaintiff's mental state were not adequately addressed. However, the court dismissed these arguments, finding the cardiologist's report thorough and well-founded. The court emphasized the short timeframe between the emotional shock at work and the heart attack, as well as the absence of prior cardiac symptoms.

Additionally, a psychiatrist diagnosed the worker with an adjustment disorder with a depressive-anxious reaction, linking it to the heart attack with over 50% probability. Consequently, the court recognized both the infarction and the subsequent mental disorder as work-related, entitling the employee to compensation from Bituah Leumi.