National Insurance to Cover Expanded Disability Benefits Following Rocket Attack Injury

An Israeli labor court has ruled that injuries sustained by a hospital worker during a rocket attack, including psychological trauma and hearing loss, should be recognized as work-related injuries. The ruling came after the worker, employed at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, was on his way to a shift on October 11, 2023, a few days after the October 7th Hamas attack. As he left his home, he heard rocket interceptions overhead and, without an immediate alarm, ran back inside to reach a protected space. During his run, he fell and injured his ankle. Shortly after, a rocket exploded near his home. The National Insurance Institute initially recognized only the ankle injury as work-related, classifying the subsequent psychological and hearing impairments as 'hostility injuries.' The Institute argued that the injuries sustained after returning home should be treated differently from the initial injury while en route to work. However, the regional labor court in Be'er Sheva accepted the worker's argument that his return home was not for personal reasons but a forced, immediate action to seek shelter due to the rocket attack. The court emphasized that the entire sequence of events, from leaving home to seeking shelter and the subsequent rocket impact, constituted a single, continuous incident driven by the emergency situation. Consequently, all three types of injuries, ankle, psychological, and hearing/tinnitus, will be recognized as work-related under the National Insurance Law. The National Insurance Institute was ordered to pay the worker 5,000 shekels in expenses.