Labor Court Rules Manager's Heart Attack After Work Dispute Is Accident

The Regional Labor Court in Nof HaGalil ruled that a heart attack suffered by a regional manager at Mekorot must be recognized as a work-related accident, overturning the National Insurance Institute's refusal. The decision follows a severe professional dispute during a contractors' tour that triggered a rapid deterioration in his health.

In August 2021, the manager, then in his 50s, attended a professional tour and discovered that only three contractors were participating in the tender. Upon learning that the company had shifted to a "contractor bank" system, which he believed was implemented improperly, he raised his voice and argued with those present. He later sat down and left the tour early, an unusual step for him.

After returning to his office and heading out for lunch, the employee began experiencing chest tightness while driving back. He contacted Magen David Adom in Tiberias, was evacuated to Ziv Medical Center, and underwent emergency catheterization for an acute heart attack. Represented by attorney Hadar Morton Boazi, he demanded that the National Insurance Institute recognize the incident as a work accident, but the agency refused, claiming no exceptional event had been proven.

The court-appointed expert, cardiologist Prof. Shmuel Gottlieb, determined that there was a causal link exceeding 50% between the argument and the cardiac event. "The emotional stress triggered physiological processes that destabilized an atherosclerotic plaque in the artery and caused its blockage," Prof. Gottlieb stated, adding that without the dispute, the attack likely would have occurred at a later date.

This expert opinion was accepted despite the employee suffering from diabetes, excess weight, smoking, and high blood lipid levels. Judge Revital Turner accepted the position, rejected the National Insurance Institute's claims, and ruled in favor of the employee, ordering 4,000 shekels in legal costs.