Compensation for a scar under a toddler's nose caused by a chair at daycare: 130,000 shekels

June 1, 2022   

This week, an agreement was reached in a compensation claim filed by the family of a toddler who was injured while at daycare. The daycare's insurance company will compensate the toddler in the amount of 130,000 shekels. The story began a few months ago: Dvori (not her real name), a toddler of daycare age, leaned on an unstable chair at the daycare, and as a result, the chair tipped over and hit her. Dvori was rushed to medical treatment, and by the grace of God, she suffered no medical damage, except for a small scar left on her face, under her nose. The family contacted attorney Benjamin Arbiv, who specializes in personal injury, and he filed a lawsuit on their behalf against the daycare center to seek compensation for the financial damages. The daycare center quickly removed the chair, which was a kind of 'admission' that it was indeed a problematic chair that endangered the children from the start. After a short period in which the case was handled in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, and despite the understanding that the entire damage was due to that scar, the parties reached an agreement on compensation of 130,000 shekels per toddler, to be paid by the insurance company. In a conversation with attorney Arbiv, he explains that this is relatively high compensation for such an injury, and reveals what the reasons were that convinced the insurance company to agree to the amount of compensation. "We focused on two main claims: one, the claim that the girl may need surgery to treat the scar, and the other, the claim that she will need medical makeup over the years to disguise the scar. We were able to convince the defendant that this is an accumulated cost for life and the amount may reach tens of thousands of shekels." It is worth noting that a scar is usually considered a medical disability and not a functional one, since it is a purely cosmetic matter. The lawyer's task is to convince the insurance company that this is a scar that is 'functional', meaning that it interferes with functioning, such as a girl who is preoccupied with the scar most of the day, which may harm her self-image and have wider implications. Attorney Arbiv adds and notes that in every case of injury, it is important to verify with a professional the full range of relevant consequences. Since there is not always a medical injury, in many cases it is possible to receive appropriate compensation for cosmetic injury as well.