In a tragic and unusual accident, a man died after falling into a burial plot while attending his friend's funeral at the Segula cemetery in Petah Tikva, N12 reported.
The victim's family intends to sue the Chevra Kadisha (Holy Society), the main company that oversees Jewish burial in Israel, for NIS 2.5 million over its negligence that allegedly led to the accident.
The incident took place toward the end of the service as people were starting to disperse. The victim, trying to make his way back to his car, stumbled across the crowded gravestones, as a proper path or sign postings were unavailable. At one point, he slipped and fell into an open burial plot, as a large piece of a tombstone fell on top of him, causing a serious blow to his head.
It took seven people who were there to lift the heavy tombstone and rescue the victim, before MDA paramedics arrived at the scene and evacuated him to Beilinson Hospital as he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. He was admitted and treated at the ICU unit but unfortunately, his condition deteriorated until he succumbed to his injuries two and a half weeks later.
His widowed wife, shocked by the sudden accident, turned to attorneys Shalhevet Kimchi and Shlomzion Rubin, and filed the damages lawsuit against the Petah Tikvah branch of Chevra Kadisha. "Had the accident not happened, the victim would have lived for many more years," the bill of indictment read.
The indictment presents two important professional opinions that support the claim that the victim's death was directly connected to the fall and injury that was caused by the collapsed tombstone.
A report filed by Rafael Gil, an engineer and security expert who examined the scene of the accident, indicated a real lack of secure trails for allowing visitors to safely walk between the tombstones, forcing people to stumble between them, which is what led to the tragic accident.
"This is a horrible case. An innocent person who went to pay respect to his close friend found himself buried underneath a tombstone that collapsed on him," the attorneys wrote in a statement. "It happened due to failures and defects in maintaining and managing one of Gush Dan's central cemeteries by Chevra Kadisha. We can only hope that the lawsuit will lead to the necessary repairs and prevent future accidents like this one."