A Haifa municipal employee exposed to severe vandalism in a public park during his work may be recognized as having a work-related injury due to a heart attack he suffered hours after the incident.
Judge Assaf Harel of the Haifa Labor Court ruled that the exposure to the vandalism constituted an "exceptional event," warranting the appointment of an expert to examine the causal link between the incident and the medical condition.
The claimant, 59, has been employed by the Haifa Municipality for approximately 35 years and has been a public parks supervisor for the past three years. In October 2021, he received a report of property damage in one of the city's parks. The following morning, he arrived at the park, which had undergone extensive maintenance just three days earlier, and saw that the concrete furniture had been completely destroyed.
He filed a police report, and just ten hours later, he found himself hospitalized at Bnai Zion Medical Center due to a heart attack, after being transported from his home by ambulance. His request to the National Insurance Institute to recognize the heart attack as a work-related injury was denied, prompting him to file a claim with the court.
The plaintiff claimed that the vandalism in the park was the most severe he had seen in all his years with the municipality. He claimed he was extremely distressed by the damage, especially given the recent comprehensive maintenance. He argued that he was deeply affected by the incident, making it an exceptional event that justified appointing an expert to assess the causal connection between the incident and his heart condition. Conversely, the National Insurance Institute argued that the incident was not exceptional, and therefore, the claim should be dismissed.
Despite the contemporaneous medical records not supporting the claimant's assertion that he experienced extraordinary stress due to the vandalism, Judge Harel determined—based on testimonies from the claimant's colleagues at the municipality—that the incident indeed constituted an exceptional event.
Testimony from the landscaping contractor who accompanied the claimant to the public park and police station revealed that the claimant was "shaking continuously and was visibly distressed and in an unusual state of mind." The contractor even advised him not to take it to heart. He also noted that the vandalism they witnessed was "unlike anything seen in other places."
The director of the municipal parks and landscape department also testified, saying that during a conversation with the claimant following the incident, his tone indicated that he "took it hard." Both the director and the contractor confirmed that the vandalism was exceptional.
Furthermore, the claimant's unchallenged testimony indicated that on the day of the incident and before his hospitalization, his colleagues at the office remarked that he appeared "red and sweaty."
In the decision, it was noted that despite the lack of contemporaneous medical documentation supporting the claimant's assertion of extraordinary stress, the corroborative testimonies were sufficient to persuade the court that the vandalism incident was indeed exceptional.
Under these circumstances, the judge concluded that an "exceptional event" had been proven to have occurred during and as a result of the claimant's work, warranting the appointment of a cardiology expert to provide an opinion on whether the heart attack was causally linked to the sight of the vandalism. If the expert concludes that there is a causal connection, it is highly likely that the claimant will be recognized as having suffered a work-related injury.