Court Awards Over $1 Million to Family of Drowned Water Polo Player

A Tel Aviv District Court has awarded over four million shekels (approximately $1.1 million USD) in compensation to the widow and children of a water polo player who drowned during a training session at Kibbutz Shamir's pool approximately 11 years ago. The court ruled that Kibbutz Shamir, as the owner and operator of the pool, was negligent for failing to ensure a lifeguard was present during the training.

The deceased, aged 53 at the time of his death, was a player for the Hapoel Shamir Galil Elyon water polo team. In July 2015, near the end of a training session, he stepped out of the pool. The training continued, and he was later discovered at the bottom of the pool unnoticed by others. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

The family argued that the kibbutz's failure to provide a lifeguard constituted negligence. The kibbutz and its insurer contended that a lifeguard was not required for a closed training session of skilled athletes. A dispute also arose regarding the cause of death, with the defense suggesting a cardiac or cerebral event, but the judge, Yossi Berachia, concluded based on evidence, including expert testimony, that drowning was the cause, noting the player was submerged for at least six minutes.

Judge Berachia rejected the kibbutz's argument that a closed training session did not necessitate a lifeguard, stating that the term "open to the public" in relevant regulations applies to any group, including sports teams, as the danger of drowning is the same regardless of the activity. While some participants had lifeguard training, none were officially designated as lifeguards responsible for monitoring the pool.

The court found the absence of a lifeguard to be both a breach of statutory duty and negligence. The judge stated that a lifeguard would likely have noticed the player submerging and could have saved his life. The player's son, who developed post-traumatic stress disorder and psychiatric disability following the incident, was awarded approximately two million shekels. The widow received about 900,000 shekels, and the other three children received approximately 155,000 shekels each. Legal fees and expenses of about 800,000 shekels were also awarded.