Motorcyclist wins compensation from Netivei Israel after accident
A motorcyclist driving without insurance lost control due to potholes on Highway 70. The court ruled that Netivei Israel must pay him approximately a quarter of a million shekels for negligence in road maintenance.
The Magistrate's Court in Haifa has ruled that Netivei Israel must compensate a motorcyclist with approximately 250,000 shekels following an accident caused by a series of potholes on Highway 70. Judge Tali Mirom determined that the company was negligent in addressing the road hazard, despite receiving multiple warnings.
The accident occurred in the winter of 2020. The rider, who was driving without valid insurance, hit a series of potholes, was thrown to the shoulder, and suffered fractures to his shin, knee, and ribs. He testified that he could not see the potholes because they were obscured by a vehicle in front of him. He further claimed that the resulting injuries prevented him from continuing his Torah studies, thereby causing him to lose his eligibility for a state allowance.
Netivei Israel argued that it could not be held liable for the accident given the thousands of kilometers of roads under its jurisdiction. The company filed a third-party notice against its maintenance contractor. The contractor defended itself by stating that Netivei Israel had ignored its warnings and, for budgetary reasons, had insisted on using "cold asphalt," which disintegrated during the rainy season—a solution the contractor described as a "band-aid on a deep cut."
Judge Mirom accepted this version of events, noting that Netivei Israel was well aware of the road's poor condition. Records showed five reports of defects in the last two months of 2020 alone, with six more reported shortly after the accident. The judge criticized the company's representative for dismissing the hazard as "minor peeling," calling the attitude "dismissive." She ruled that even if full repairs were impossible during winter, the company should have at least marked the hazards or closed the affected lanes.
The court ordered Netivei Israel to pay 216,400 shekels, after a 25% deduction for the rider's contributory negligence regarding his following distance. Additionally, the company was ordered to cover approximately 50,000 shekels in legal fees, along with court costs and expert witness expenses.
