CA 2886/05 A.A. v. Dr. Gandin Ludmila and Clalit Health Fund
The verdict addresses the case of Mr. A.A., who worked for many years as an officer in the Israel Police. After his retirement, he began working as a security officer.
In April 2001, Mr. A.A., then approximately 65 years old, visited his family doctor, suffering from chest pain, sweating, and shortness of breath. Despite his complaints, an ECG test was not performed on site. Two days later, Mr. A.A. collapsed at his home due to a severe cardiac event, and since then he has been hospitalized in a vegetative state at a nursing facility.
The Jerusalem District Court determined that the family doctor was negligent in failing to perform an ECG test at the time of the visit, despite the presence of numerous risk factors – his advanced age, the fact that he suffered from obesity, a family history of heart disease, and more. However, the District Court divided responsibility for the occurrence of the cardiac event between the doctor and Mr. A.A. equally.
The District Court determined that since Mr. A.A. did not report to the doctor that two weeks earlier he had been asked to perform an ECG test and did not do so, and that despite complaining of pain after the referral to the doctor he refused to undergo additional tests, equal responsibility for the severe outcome should be imposed upon him.
Our office filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, and in the appeal verdict, the Supreme Court determined that the doctor should have sent Mr. A.A. for an urgent ECG, in light of the data available to her at the time of the examination.
Due to the fact that the doctor did not clarify to the plaintiff that this was an urgent test, the Supreme Court determined that blame for the terrible outcome should be placed on the doctor alone.
The Court determined that the fact that the doctor did not clarify to the appellant the need to perform the ECG test urgently served to "lull" his alertness.
The final compensation received for A.A. amounted to approximately 2 million ₪.
