The Gross family of Yerushalayim, whose daughters Yael and Avigail z”l died after their home was sprayed by an exterminator, have filed an NIS 11 million lawsuit against the exterminator who visited their home, the Terem emergency clinic that treated his daughters, the physician and two nurses who treated them, the importer of the chemical agent used by the exterminator and the Ministries of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, and Health.
The Gross’ had their Givat Mordechai apartment sprayed by an exterminator. They adhered to his instructions, ventilating the apartment for a specified period of time before returning. The family returned home and after a number of hours the children became ill. The parents took the children to a Terem emergency clinic in Yerushalayim, where they were diagnosed as having a virus, released to return home. By the time the children arrived at Shaare Zedek Medical Center their conditions was critical. Ultimately, the girls died, unable to overcome the damage caused to their frail organs by the harsh pesticide agent which they inhaled for hours. The boys B”H were able to overcome and they were eventually released from the hospital.
According to the Ynet report, family attorney Yuval Rubinoff explains the lawsuit is to make certain such a tragedy never occurs again in the future. Rubinoff calls the situation a “ticking bomb”, pushing the family to reach the decision to file the lawsuit.
B”H on the anniversary of the tragedy the Gross family celebrated the bris of their son Yonasan Eliezer.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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11 Responses
Standard procedure for the attorney to sue for millions (1/3 to himself) and say it’s not about the money, but about “justice” or protecting society.
($5.9 million to Eric Garner family, for instance).
Yes, the tragedy was great and perhaps the doctors at Terem failed to recognize something very rare, but where in halacha does it say that one may financially destroy the clinic as a result?
And as for the exterminator (who is frum), what gain is there to destroy his life as well? Does anyone imagine he would have done this, had he understood it to be dangerous?
Again, where in halacha is this allowed?
I feel it is important to stress that it appears that the motivation of the lawsuit is not financial benefit. The hope is to drive home the magnitude of the responsibilities of people in such positions, to prevent such a tragedy from happening to any one else.
@ 1 I agree 100%, there is no basis in Halacha that allows someone to sue for millons of dollars. Lawsuits are part of the secular justice system.
To #2: I have no idea what the motivation is, but as I wrote above, those who sue for millions ALWAYS say it’s not about money, the recent NY suit being a case in point. (YET they ALWAYS sue for millions and fight for every nickel of it — and divide the money between themselves and their lawyers.
However, unlike in the NY case where one could possibly claim there has been ongoing brutality and discrimination, I am not aware of such a thing ever happening before in EY, so I don’t quite understand what the suit is trying to fix, nor do I understand how it is halachically justified.
You think bankrupting Terem, the exterminator, and their insurance companies will benefit anyone other than those who will receive the money? If so, please explain.
I don’t get it. I thought they quickly made a point of publicly forgiving the exterminator. I sense that they were talked into this lawsuit.
Shlomo, is Bava Kamma applicable only in cases where the din Torah will not bankrupt the mazik? What about the rest of Choshen Mishpat? Are you requiring litigants in front of a B”D to go lifnim mishuras hadin? As far as I know, they are to be discouraged from litigating under the strict letter of the law in favor of peshara, but may insist on din if they so choose. Respectfully, do you have a source for your position? Thanks.
to all the above:
you’ve all made very strong comments without even knowing if rabbi gross asked a sha’aleh, which i’m sure he did.
without even being familiar with this sweet, shy, talmid chochom of a person…
He would NEVER do anything without asking someone greater than him.
you are ALL מוציא שם רע!!
From everything I have read about this family, it does not sound like their style to sue for the money. It does however sound like the lawyer has manipulated them into the age old “it’s not about the money, it’s about making sure it never happens again ” like it’s their duty to do this for the public safety
I’m sure terem has comprehensive insurance to cover themselves, and the probability is the exterminator did also. There is no reason to have rachmonus on the multi-billion insurance companies who take money for precisely this.
I highly doubt someone who has to work as an exterminator has enough money to make suing him worthwhile – unless he has insurance.
The amount of tzaar they must have gone through is unimaginable, and I see no reason they shouldn’t be able to receive some sort of compensation just because the insurance company will lose 0.00001% of their balance sheet.
Well said Gavriel. The fact is that most Poskim permit suing insurance companies.
Gavriel613 is 100% correct. Why on earth should the family who suffered from this unspeakable tragedy not receive their due compensation? To the best of my knowledge, and I was personally involved in a situation where medical damage was caused by negligence, suing [effectively the insurance company] is both mutar and approved. I was encouraged to do so by the posek I consulted, and the institution whose wholly unintended negligence caused the accident also encouraged me to do so, telling me that is what they have insurance for.