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Three factors in correctly selecting an expert in Forensic Medicine

 

Integrity

 

Profound professional knowledge and its application in the medical field related to the injury.

 

Experience in providing a medical opinion.

 

These are the three factors which have to be considered when selecting the medical expert for the purpose of writing a legal opinion, be that for submitting that opinion to the National Insurance Institute, to the court of law or two the Ministry of Defense.

Legal Medical Opinion

A medical opinion given by an expert physician proving the claimed damage for the purpose of claiming damages at a court of law. In most cases it "replaces" the need to bring the expert himself to testify in front of the court.

"Second Opinion" Disability Assessment

A letter assessing a person's disability for a Medical Committee of the National Insurance Institute. This is the private opinion of a physician who is an expert in the field of the injury causing the disability. A disability assessment letter claiming disability benefits from the National Insurance Institute should be written by a physician who is an expert in the field of the injury for which the disability benefits are required.

What is a Professional Illness?

A professional illness is an illness which the worker suffers from due to his work or job activity when exposed to harmful elements (chemical, physical, biological etc). A professional illness is the result of repeated exposure to the harmful element over time (chronic exposure). The Job Accident and Illness Act (Reporting) – 1945 lists several professional illnesses which have to be reported to the regional employment supervisor.

The basic goal is to prevent the professional illness. Therefore, it is important to identify and locate the risk factors at the workplace and remove or mitigate them before they will damage the workers' health.

From the Ministry of the Economy Web Page > Homepage > Channels > Administration of Employee Safety and Health > Occupational Health

What is a Work Accident?

A work accident is an event causing injury to the worker.

There are two main definitions of a work accident. The first defines a work accident for the purpose of reporting to the Ministry of the Economy in order to investigate the accident and prevent the occurrence of further accidents. According to this definition, a work accident is an accident originating from an employee's job, and during that job, causing over three days of inability to work, or causing the worker's death.

The second definition appears in the National Insurance Law and serves to define the rights and benefits to the accident's victim.

From the Ministry of the Economy Web Page > Homepage > Channels > Administration of Employee Safety and Health > Work Accidents

Determining a disability level – temporary disability level

If the Medical Committee has determined that the victim's condition is not permanent and may change, it will assign him or her a temporary disability level for a maximum period of one year. During that period he or she will receive disability benefits according to the temporary disability level. At the end of this period he or she will be invited to another Medical Committee.

From the Web Page of the National Insurance Institute > HomePage > Benefits > Disability > Determining the percentage of medical disability

Determining a disability level – permanent disability level

The medical committee determines the disability level according to the list of medical disabilities defined in the National Insurance Institute's regulations.

In this list, the specific disability percentage if given for each medical disability.

From the Web Page of the National Insurance Institute > HomePage > Benefits > Disability > Determining the percentage of medical disability

Legal Medical Opinion
"Second Opinion" Disability Assessment
What is a Professional Illness?
What is a Work Accident?
temporary disability level
permanent disability level
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