A 23-year-old haredi yeshiva student injured in a motorcycle accident will receive total compensation of 410,000 shekels, following a legal battle in which the insurance company attempted to slash his payout on the grounds that he would likely continue learning in kollel after marriage rather than entering the workforce.
The case, filed in Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court through attorney Lilach Yefet, centered on injuries sustained by the young man in the crash. A court-appointed orthopedic expert determined that the plaintiff suffered permanent disability of 19% due to an intra-articular fracture in his right knee, which has a mild impact on his overall functional capacity.
At the heart of the dispute was how to calculate the yeshiva student's future loss of earnings. The insurance company contended that because the young man is haredi and "his Torah is his profession," he would continue studying in kollel after marriage and would not join the labor market.
Based on this argument, the insurer sought to establish that he would suffer no loss of earnings from the accident and therefore should not be compensated for this component. Alternatively, the company requested that any compensation be calculated according to minimum wage rather than the average national salary.
Attorney Yefet countered that a yeshiva student should not be treated differently from any other young person his age who has not yet entered the workforce and whose career path has not yet crystallized. She argued that it would be premature to determine at such a young age that the yeshiva student would never work in the future.
According to her argument, "earning capacity" is a person's individual resource, and the young man should not be denied the right to choose to join the workforce in the future, in whatever profession he might select, from a sofer to a construction engineer.
The court accepted her position and ruled that given the yeshiva student's young age, his decisions at this stage are not fixed and may change. Accordingly, the court determined that compensation for his future loss of earnings would be calculated according to the average national salary, which stood at 9,504 shekels gross during the relevant period.
Following the court's recommendation, a settlement agreement was signed under which the yeshiva student will receive 350,000 shekels net. The insurance company will add attorney's fees of 11% plus VAT and expense reimbursement, bringing the total sum to 410,000 shekels.
Attorney Yefet noted that this is not the first time insurance companies have attempted to reduce compensation for young haredi men studying Torah, claiming that "their Torah is their profession" and therefore they are not expected to suffer loss of earnings. According to her, people in the haredi community also work for their livelihood in various professions, and a young yeshiva student is entitled to compensation just like any other injured person his age.
