Court Awards About NIS 14 Million to Former Soldier Hurt in 2017 Crash

The Central District Court last week awarded roughly NIS 14 million to a plaintiff who was badly injured in a road accident in August 2017, when he was still an IDF regular soldier and is now 30. Part of the award includes NIS 100,000 ordered by Judge Irit Cohen to cover a gym membership for the rest of his life.

The plaintiff suffered severe multi-system injuries after another vehicle swerved into his car. He was left with a cumulative medical disability of 100%, including complete paralysis of his right arm and weakness on the right side of his body, along with additional neurological, orthopedic, psychiatric and other impairments. After the crash, through attorney Gil Ben Ari, he asked the Defense Ministry Rehabilitation Department to recognize him as a disabled veteran, and the ministry did so, paying him a monthly stipend.

Under the Disabled Veterans Law, he must choose between compensation under the Traffic Accident Compensation Law and the Defense Ministry benefits, and he cannot receive both at the same time. He may make that choice even after the civil damages ruling. If he takes the court award, he will have to return to the ministry the amounts and value of benefits already received. Because he preferred a lump-sum compensation route, he sued the insurer, Clal, which covered the vehicle he was in. He claimed he needs a 24-hour aide, housing, a suitable vehicle, pain and suffering damages, and a Bioness rehabilitation system. The court also said he gets Botox injections every few months for pain relief and limited movement, but did not award separate compensation because the treatment is included in the health basket.

During the case, Clal submitted two surveillance videos from February 2020 and March 2021 showing the plaintiff driving alone, getting in and out of the car without help, handling his crutch, standing on both feet and walking around the vehicle. The company argued the footage contradicted his testimony and what he told the rehabilitation expert. Judge Cohen nonetheless accepted the opinion of the court-appointed rehabilitation expert, rejected the insurer’s claim that his life expectancy was shortened, and set compensation through age 81.5.

The award covers lost earnings from his discharge from the army until age 67 and then retirement, third-party assistance, vehicle purchase and replacement, the Bioness device and accessories, lifelong gym membership, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy, pain and suffering, cannabis expenses and other costs. About NIS 3.6 million was frozen pending his recovery of Social Security rights, with any excess to be offset or paid to him depending on the final amounts. Ben Ari said he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court because no additional NIS 2.5 million was awarded for medical expenses and because, he argued, NIS 13,000 a month is not enough for round-the-clock help. Clal said it is studying the ruling and will decide its next steps.