For four years, a Rishon LeZion resident devotedly cared for his wife, who had suffered several strokes, resulting in cognitive and functional decline.
The woman's condition deteriorated until she stopped recognizing her family members, lost her sense of time and place, had difficulty holding a conversation, and needed help and close supervision.
The husband, who was completely preoccupied with caring for his nursing wife, did not find time in all those years to check her rights with the insurance companies and the National Insurance Institute.
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Only about a year and a half after her death, following a random conversation, the husband decided to check whether his wife was entitled to any rights and contacted Attorney Liron Bieber-Harari of the Bieber Lekoa Chaikin Harari Law Firm, in order to find out whether he was entitled to any compensation.
An examination conducted by Attorney Bieber-Harari revealed that the deceased was insured with long-term care insurance. According to her, long-term care insurance is usually activated when the insured person is still alive. Despite this, in such cases, the spouse is certainly entitled to receive the benefits to which his wife was entitled during her lifetime, subject to the limitation of the statute of limitations.
According to Attorney Bieber-Harari, following an amendment to the Insurance Contract Law, the statute of limitations for nursing care claims was extended to five years, however, this amendment only applies to policies purchased or renewed after November 25, 2020. The policy held by the deceased did not meet the new conditions, and suffered from a short statute of limitations.
Because of this, Attorney Bieber-Harari rushed to file a lawsuit with the court on behalf of the husband, before the statute of limitations applied.
The lawsuit claims that the woman's serious nursing condition met the terms of the policy. It also claims that due to the mental exhaustion she suffered, the statute of limitations should be extended for the period during which she was unable to take care of her own affairs and no guardian was appointed for her.
In a compromise agreement recently reached between Attorney Bieber-Harari and the insurance company, it was determined that the insurance company would pay the deceased's husband compensation in the amount of 120,000 shekels, with this amount also taking into account the extension of the statute of limitations.
The settlement agreement was given the force of a judgment in the Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court.
