Airport Worker Suffers Stroke After Heated Argument on Duty
An Israeli labor court has recognized a veteran employee of the Airports Authority as having suffered a stroke at work, establishing a causal link between an unusual argument with a night shift supervisor and the medical event that followed. The ruling, issued on August 30, 2026, by Judge Yosef Rachamim, was based on the court-appointed neurologist's opinion, which was not contested by either party.
The 60-year-old employee, who worked 12-hour shifts as a shift leader in the ground services department, arrived for work around 7:00 AM two years prior and noticed that waste had not been cleared from an aircraft fuel storage facility. Typically, a contractor handles waste removal, but they do not work on Saturdays, leaving the task to the authority's employees on duty.
According to the lawsuit filed by his attorney, Elischer Feingersh, the employee immediately called the Friday night shift supervisor, accusing him of failing to perform the task. This escalated into a loud, minutes-long argument, described later as an "unusual incident." Shortly after the dispute, while attempting to fill out a daily report, the employee lost control of his right hand and realized something was wrong. The supervisor, hearing the employee's slurred speech during a subsequent call, immediately summoned medical assistance.
A paramedic unit arrived at 8:25 AM, and the employee was taken to the emergency room at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a stroke. The court-appointed neurologist, Professor Avinoam Rakes, confirmed the diagnosis and the need for hospitalization and rehabilitation. He concluded that, given the proximity in time, there was a causal link between the "unusual incident" at work and the onset of the stroke.
The labor court accepted the expert's opinion, affirmed the causal connection, and ordered the National Insurance Institute to pay the employee's legal expenses. "This incident is a clear example of a significant trigger that led to the onset of the stroke," stated attorney Feingersh, expressing satisfaction that the National Insurance Institute agreed to some of the facts, thereby streamlining the legal process.
