Beersheva – A small claims court in Beersheva ruled this week that Israel Railways will compensate a passenger for mental anguish in the amount of NIS 500, for overcrowding and unreasonable conditions during a journey.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The suit was filed by a passenger who claims that his trip on the train during the Succot holiday was extremely crowded. He claims that passengers sat in the aisles, on the tables, and on the floor; a few people took up two seats, the lavatories were all locked, and the air conditioning was not operating. The plaintiff complained to the railway management and was offered two free tickets as compensation.
The railway claimed in its defense that it was operating under a special schedule in order to ease the holiday crowding and that it is a government entity, fully owned by the State of Israel, but the court overruled this argument, saying that this was no bar to a suit being brought against it.
“There is a contractual relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. It is fair and reasonable for a passenger to expect to have a place to sit, that the lavatories should be in order, and that the air conditioning and loudspeaker systems should function properly,” ruled retired Judge Ruthi Bahat.
The court ordered the passenger to be compensated in the amount of NIS 500, in addition to legal costs of the same amount.
a precedence the mta hopes you dont hear about the courts would be flooded with lawsuits