A Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court ordered the Kopi Bar restaurant chain to pay about NIS 360,000 to a senior employee who suffered a herniated disc and permanent disability after lifting boxes at work. The case stemmed from a routine workday that turned into a serious injury when the deputy manager of the deliveries department was asked to help with heavy physical tasks because of a staff shortage.
Judge Ariel Bergner found that the employer breached its duty of care. After reviewing the evidence and an independent medical expert’s opinion, he said the worker was acting under pressure to help the business in a difficult situation, but the duty of safety remained with the employer. He wrote that the obligation to ensure safe conditions belongs to the employer alone, even when the employee is volunteering to help.
In his lawsuit, the employee said he had never been trained for strenuous physical work, was not given safety equipment, and was pushed into the task under heavy pressure. He argued that his role was managerial and did not normally include lifting heavy loads. The restaurant denied liability, claiming he had a pre-existing medical condition and was partly to blame because he knew about his limitations but did the work anyway.
The court rejected that defense, saying that even if the worker had prior health issues, the employer still had to make sure the job was done safely, provide proper training, and supply protective equipment. The award includes court-ordered damages and National Insurance payments. Bergner’s ruling is being presented as a warning to employers that a one-time “helping hand” does not transfer safety responsibility away from the company.
