Injured in a car accident without compulsory insurance - who will compensate?

Compulsory insurance is intended, among other things, to provide compensation for anyone injured in a car accident while driving a vehicle. But what happens when an accident happens and the driver forgets to renew the insurance?

(Illustration: ShutterStock)

Road accident (Photo: ShutterStock)

The Road Accident Victims Compensation Law is intended to ensure financial compensation for every casualty in a car accident suffering from bodily injury. By law, the liability for the bodily injury of passengers in the vehicle involved in the accident will apply to the driver's liability insurance. In order for the victims to be able to claim the compensation they deserve, each driver is obliged to purchase compulsory insurance for his vehicle, and to have it renewed every year. In case the vehicle involved in the accident was not covered by compulsory insurance, the passengers or pedestrians injured by the vehicle are covered by cornea, but the driver who did not have compulsory insurance, on his face, is not entitled to compensation. Is that the case anyway?

The undiagnosed fracture

R., a motorcyclist, was hit in a serious car accident and suffered a multi-system injury. Following the injury, he was hospitalized for 36 days, during which a number of fractures were diagnosed in his body, and he underwent various treatments and surgeries. If he had compulsory insurance, he would be entitled to substantial compensation. Unfortunately, he forgot to renew his motorcycle duty insurance, so that despite the heavy damage he had, he had no one to sue. .
Despite repeated complaints from R. throughout his hospitalization for right arm pain and movement restrictions, another fracture of his right forearm that caused his great suffering was not diagnosed. The medical team dismissed his complaints alleging he had "muscle trauma."

While suffering from an undiagnosed fracture, R. continued to use his right hand as usual, and as he was undergoing a recovery process which included the use of crutches and other aids, he exerted a great deal of pressure on the arm, causing great damage and worsening of the fracture. Only after his release from the hospital, following further complaints from him, was the fracture diagnosed. But the diagnosis came too late; R., who was left with a mobility disability and pain, was defined as having a permanent disability of 15%.

(Illustration: ShutterStock)

Road accident with a motorcycle (Photo: ShutterStock)

The right hand does not know what the left hand does?

R.'s case is currently under litigation following a medical malpractice claim he filed against the hospital. The opinion of a medical expert on behalf of the prosecution stated that according to the medical documents, already in R.'s surgery at the beginning of the hospitalization, the fracture could be diagnosed in his right hand: during the operation the pulse disappeared in the injured hand and despite examination of the hand and the causes of the pulse disappearance, the fracture was not diagnosed.

The medical expert determined that every reasonable physician should have already noticed a fracture at this stage. The expert added that in light of the fact that so many doctors had been treated during the hospitalization, but had not been diagnosed and treated, this was the hospital's neglect. According to the expert, had the fracture been properly diagnosed and treated, R. would not, in the end, have any disability, pain, and movement limitations.

Remember, at the time of the accident, R. was without insurance cover. In the statement of defense filed by the hospital, the hospital used this fact to try to evade liability on the grounds that R. who was injured in a car accident and was uninsured is in no way entitled to compensation.

May claim by other grounds

R's lack of insurance coverage does not allow him to file a claim under the Road Accident Victims Compensation Law, but section 8 of this law, called the grounds of special grounds, provides that a different cause of action can be claimed under the tort order.

In R.'s case, the medical malpractice of the hospital in which R. was incapacitated is a legitimate cause of action. The hospital's motion for dismissal of the lawsuit is still under litigation.

Lack of insurance coverage for a driver injured in road accidents is not the end of a verse. In R.'s case, it was the default of malpractice that became advantageous, but there can certainly be additional grounds for filing a tort under tort. In case you have been in an accident and you are not insured, it is advisable to consult an attorney specializing in accidents and tort to find out if there is a cause for filing Tort Claim.

Attorney Tiferet Damti-Coke specializes in accidents, personal injury, insurance and medical malpractice claims.
Phone: 053-9374033
The article is courtesy of Zap Legal

The information presented in the article does not constitute or replace legal advice and does not constitute a recommendation for taking proceedings or avoiding proceedings. Anyone who relies on the information contained in the article does so at his own risk.