The Road Accident Victims Compensation Law: Why You Usually Do Not Need to Prove Fault
Absolute liability under the Piltad law: whom you sue, why contributory negligence does not apply, what is compensated, the exceptions, and Karnit's role.
One of the things that most surprises people injured in a road accident is that in most cases there is no need to prove that anyone was negligent. The Road Accident Victims Compensation Law, 5735-1975 (known in Israel by its acronym, Piltad), is built on absolute liability: the duty to compensate falls on the person using the vehicle and on their insurer, regardless of the question of fault.
Whom You Actually Sue
This is the first practical point, and many people get it wrong. Under section 3 of the Law, a driver and passengers generally sue the insurer of the vehicle they were traveling in, not the other driver or that driver's insurance company. An injured pedestrian sues the insurer of the vehicle that struck them. This means that even in an accident where you are convinced the other side was at fault, your claim will usually be conducted against your own insurer, and that does not affect your entitlement.
No Contributory Negligence
Unlike ordinary tort law, the Road Accident Victims Compensation Law does not reduce compensation on account of the victim's contributory negligence. Even a victim who was negligent receives full compensation, apart from the exceptional cases listed in the Law, chief among them causing the accident deliberately.
Who Is Covered, and How It Is Funded
The Law applies to a person injured as a user of a vehicle, as a passenger or as a pedestrian struck by a vehicle, and also to the dependents of a victim who has died. The funding comes from the compulsory insurance that every vehicle owner is required to purchase.
What Counts as a "Road Accident"
Under the statutory definition, a road accident is an event in which bodily injury is caused to a person as a result of the use of a motor vehicle for transport purposes, including getting into or out of the vehicle, roadside servicing and further cases.
What Is Compensated
The main heads of damage are past loss of earnings, future loss of earnings, medical expenses, third-party assistance, pain and suffering, and support for dependents where the victim has died. It is important to know that compensation under the Road Accident Victims Compensation Law is not unlimited. The law and its regulations set ceilings and calculation mechanisms for some heads of damage, including pain and suffering and the earnings base used to calculate loss of earnings. This means the actual amount of compensation follows those rules and not only the extent of the loss, so each case should be examined on its own facts.
Karnit: When There Is No One to Recover From
Where there is no insurance company from which the compensation can be recovered, for example a pedestrian struck in a hit-and-run or by an uninsured vehicle, the Compensation Fund for Road Accident Victims, known as Karnit, comes into the picture.
The Cases Where the Law Does Not Apply
Absolute liability is not unlimited. Section 7 of the Law denies compensation to a person who caused the accident deliberately, to a person who drove without a valid driving license, to a person who used the vehicle without the owner's permission, and to a person for whom the vehicle served or assisted in committing a felony. The two exceptions that catch the most people are actually the less familiar ones: a person who drove a vehicle without insurance or where the insurance they held did not cover their use of the vehicle, and an owner or holder of a vehicle who allowed someone else to drive it without insurance and was injured in that same drive. A policy that does not cover a young driver below the age specified in it, or an undeclared commercial use, is exactly the situation in which a person discovers after the fact that they were not covered. Each case must be examined on its own facts.
The Trade-off That Comes With Absolute Liability
Alongside the great advantage of compensation without proof of fault there is also a price, and it is worth knowing about: section 8 of the Law establishes exclusivity of cause of action. A person who has a cause of action under this Law cannot bring a parallel claim for the same bodily injury under the Torts Ordinance. That is why the definition of what counts as a road accident is not a technical question but one that determines the track along which the entire claim will run.
FAQ
Yes. That is precisely what absolute liability means, and this Law contains no reduction for contributory negligence. Entitlement to compensation from the compulsory insurer does not depend on the question of fault, apart from the exceptions listed in section 7 of the Law.
No. The definition is built around the use of a motor vehicle for transport purposes, not around the type of road. Injuries that occurred in a parking lot or while getting into or out of a vehicle may fall within the definition. On the other hand, there are situations the Law expressly excludes, such as loading and unloading while the vehicle is stationary, so it is a question decided on the circumstances.
If you are dealing with a similar situation and would like to review the specifics of your own case, you are welcome to contact me by phone at 054-4417869 or by email at leon@sverdlov.co.il.
The content of this guide is general information only, intended to explain the legal background in accessible language. It does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for individual legal advice that takes the circumstances of the particular case into account. Nothing set out here should be relied upon for the purpose of making decisions or taking action. The law, the case law, the amounts and the deadlines may change from time to time, and every case is judged on its own facts. © All rights in the content of this guide, including its wording, its structure and its editing, are reserved to the Law Office of Leon Sverdlov. The content may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, published, translated or used for commercial purposes, in whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the firm.
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