Spending time in the pool at the country club and water slides is part of the summer routine, but sometimes not following regulations from the resort centers can turn recreation into suffering. An 18-year-old man arrived at a recreation center in the north and was hit in the head while surfing a water slide. The court recently ordered the country's insurance company to compensate him in the amount of about NIS 1.6 million.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was skiing on the red fast water slide, and when he suddenly and at high speed reached an elevated bend in the slide, he flipped over from the strong flow of water, so that he slid on his stomach and head towards the descent. At the end of the descent, the plaintiff's head hit the bottom of the landing pool hard. The plaintiff sustained a head injury and was pulled out of the pool.
Skull fracture
Following the accident, the plaintiff was rushed to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where they discovered that he had suffered a fractured skull and intracranial hemorrhage, and that there was a suspected vertebral fracture. He was hospitalized in intensive care and discharged five days after the accident. Subsequently, the plaintiff was under medical supervision within the framework of the health fund, mainly due to the headaches and also the suspicion of a fracture in one of the vertebra's gills.
Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Photo: Michelle Dot Com
The plaintiff filed his claim based on the opinion of a neurosurgery specialist, who estimated his medical disability at approximately 47 per cent. The country, for its part, argued that the prosecutor surfed in violation of instructions, but refrained from presenting evidence and witnesses, merely arguing that the prosecutor's version did not make sense based on professional opinion. In his testimony in court, the prosecutor said: "I sat with my legs straight, there was a strong stream of water. I got humpback and rose in the air." In addition to the prosecutor, his friend also testified that it was impossible to go skiing on his stomach because the "dispatcher" did not allow it.
Finally, Judge Ibrahim Boulos accepted the plaintiff's argument and his version regarding changing his body position while surfing. "Although according to the expert's opinion, it seems that turning from sitting with the legs outstretched forward to lying on your stomach while surfing is unusual, but at the same time, life experience shows that accidents are not made of one piece either. Some are consistent with logic and others are difficult to pinpoint the stages and mechanism of the accident," wrote Judge Boulos.
Safety instructions violated
Moreover, he added that the country violated explicit statutory provisions, such as maintaining the required water level at the landing pool: "The negligence of the defendants in this case is striking, especially in light of the violation of regulations designed to maintain the safety and bodily integrity of the users of the slide. These regulations set out essential safety measures designed to ensure in every situation that surfing will give pleasure to the surfer and prevent the occurrence of accidents. It is the duty of the country club to follow the regulations, to monitor closely and to ensure that there is no regression in the water level, which may expose surfers to a tangible danger of harm to their bodies."
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