Magen David Adom has agreed to make compensatory payment to a 34-year-old paramedic who assisted in treating a patient and was left disabled. MDA will be paying him NIS 250,000.

According to attorney Adir Swigman, who represents the paramedic, his client was sent to the address of the incident after the previous crew was unsuccessful when they tried to lift the stretcher with a morbidly obese patient on it.

When the paramedics arrived, together with three other MDA employees, one being a 16-year-old volunteer, they succeeded in lifting the stretcher, but due to the weight of the injured man, the young volunteer let go, losing his grip, and the stretcher fell and collapsed, leading to a severe injury to the paramedic’s back.

The paramedic was in severe pain and taken to the hospital, where a CT showed several herniated discs. He was sent for physical and occupational therapy and it was determined that he cannot return to his previous job.

The paramedic turned to the law firm which filed with Bituach Leumi on his behalf, seeking to be recognized as disabled. He simultaneously filed a lawsuit seeking damages from MDA. Bituach Leumi recognized him as being disabled and awarded him NIS 150,000, but MDA maintained it was not at all culpable in the case, and in its letter of defense, insisted the injury was not work-related.

After the matter made its way to court, the sides reached a compromise agreement by which MDA will award him NIS 250,000.

“MDA does not instruct its employees how to carry out their work without exposing themselves to back injuries – and it is time to put an end to this phenomenon,” says attorney Swigman.

According to him, this is not the only case in which MDA workers suffer from back injuries, and today he is in the midst of three additional suits in similar cases against the organization.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)