Client Ordered to Pay 30,000 Shekels to Medical Rights Firm After Winning Disability Ruling
An Israeli court ordered a client to pay 30,000 shekels in legal fees to a medical rights firm after he secured a 91% disability rating and tax exemption but refused to pay.
A client who turned to the company Orpaz Medical Rights Realization paid 5,265 shekels for opening a case and gave the company's representative his personal username and password for the National Insurance Institute website. He later arrived at the company's offices with his medical records. As part of the process, he was assigned a permanent disability rating of 91% and also received an income tax exemption. Despite this, he refused to pay the pre-determined fee of 30,000 shekels including VAT.
According to the ruling published on Bizportal, the company opened an execution file against him, and he claimed that the power of attorney and the payment commitment were not signed by him and that his signature was forged. According to him, the handling of his case was done mostly by him and his daughters, and the company did not provide the service it promised. Senior Registrar Yelena Borochovitz Litvin rejected the claim, inter alia because the defendant did not present a handwriting expert to support the forgery claim.
During the hearing, it emerged that the defendant did not deny that a meeting took place at his home with a company representative, during which he paid 5,265 shekels and provided the password to the National Insurance Institute website. In addition, he confirmed that he arrived at the company's offices and received material for submission to the National Insurance Institute, and later also admitted that he received explanations from a company representative. According to the power of attorney, the service included, among other things, filling out forms, organizing medical material, submitting it to the authorities, and preparing the client for examinations.
The defendant claimed that he expected to receive money following the illnesses and disabilities from which he suffers, and not just an income tax exemption, which he claims he cannot utilize because he is unable to work. The court ruled that this is a mistake regarding the advisability of the transaction, which is not grounds for canceling the agreement or receiving compensation, especially after the service and the result stipulated in the agreement were indeed provided. The lawsuit was accepted, and the case was returned to the Execution Office. In addition to the 30,000 shekels, 1,500 shekels in expenses and another 6,000 shekels including VAT were awarded for the company's lawyer's fee.
