Representation at the National Insurance Medical Committee: What the Lawyer Does in the Room
The medical committee lasts a few minutes, and what is recorded there follows the file for years. The claimant has an explicit right to be represented at the committee by a lawyer, and that representation begins long before entering the room: in choosing the documents, in the order of complaints, and in checking the protocol before signing.
“The committee does not examine how much you suffer. It examines what is written, what is measured and what is recorded. All three can be prepared.”
Adv. Yissachar Leibowitz · Head of the Social Security Department
What the medical committee is and what it decides
The medical committee is the body that determines, on behalf of the National Insurance Institute, the claimant’s medical disability percentage. Section 118 of the National Insurance Law authorises a physician or a medical committee to set the degree of disability according to tests prescribed by the minister, and the list of impairments in the regulations translates each medical condition into an item and a percentage.
In general disability the committee consists of one physician specialising in the field of the impairment and a session secretary, and someone who has complained of several impairments may go through several committees. In work injury, medical adjudicators who are not Institute employees sit on the committee. In both routes the decision is the physician’s, and the secretary is responsible for recording the protocol.
The committee sets percentages. The degree of incapacity, from which the general disability pension is derived, is set by the claims officer at a separate stage. The distinction matters, because each stage requires a different kind of evidence.
The right to representation, and what it includes
The National Insurance Institute states explicitly: the claimant may ask to bring an accompanying person, and has the right to be represented by a lawyer. The right is not a courtesy of the committee; it is part of the proceeding.
The difference between an accompanying person and a representative is substantive. An accompanying person is present. A representative addresses the committee, draws its attention to a finding that was not examined, asks for an omitted complaint to be recorded, and comments on an impairment item that does not fit. A lawyer also represents at the stage that follows: in the objection to the appeals committee, and in the appeal to the labour court, where only a lawyer may appear.
Fees for representation before the National Insurance Institute are capped by law in most claim types: a file-opening fee of up to ILS 961 (as of 1 January 2026), and a percentage of the benefit payable only once it begins to be paid. The law sets a ceiling, and it applies to anyone who represents, not only to lawyers.
Before the committee: the work that decides the outcome
Most of the effect of representation happens before the claimant enters the room. Three actions recur in every file.
Matching the file to the list of impairments. The committee translates findings into items in the regulations. Each item has requirements: an imaging test, a functional test result, a range-of-motion measurement, a diagnosis by a particular specialist. A file missing the document the item requires leads to a low percentage, even when the condition is severe.
The order of complaints. Time at the committee is short, so complaints are ordered from the most significant, the one carrying the highest percentages, to the marginal. A complaint not stated is not recorded, and a complaint not recorded does not exist at the objection stage.
Preparing for the examination. The claimant knows in advance which questions will be asked, which examinations the physician may perform, and the difference between a factual description of a limitation and a general complaint of pain. This preparation is not “coaching”; it is the prevention of omissions.
In the room: four points that decide
The hearing itself is short, and yet there are four points at which the representative’s presence makes a difference.
The first is recording the complaints. The protocol opens with the claimant’s complaints, which the claimant is asked to sign. The representative makes sure every complaint has been recorded in full before signing.
The second is the examination. The physician decides whether to examine physically. Where the complaint concerns limited movement, an examination that was not performed is a missing finding, and the representative may request it.
The third is the documents. An opinion placed before the committee and not discussed is grounds for objection. The representative makes sure the committee addresses every document, and that the response is recorded.
The fourth is the impairment item. When the committee concludes, the representative knows whether the item chosen matches the findings, and if not, asks for that to be recorded. A statement recorded in the protocol is the basis for an objection; a statement not recorded does not exist.
After the decision: objection, appeal and re-examination
The decision arrives in writing, and from the moment it is received the deadlines run. In general disability, anyone assessed below 80% medical disability may object to a medical appeals committee within 60 days; in work injury the deadline is 30 days. The appeals committee decision is appealed to the regional labour court within 60 days, on a point of law only.
The objection is not a repetition of the claim. It is a document that points to what the first committee missed and attaches what it lacked: a new test, an updated clinic summary and, in suitable cases, a specialist’s opinion. An objection built from the protocol, not from a sense of injustice, is an objection that can stand.
Even without an objection, someone whose condition has worsened may request re-examination for deterioration, with a medical certificate. A repeat claim is examined according to what has changed since the previous examination.
When a private specialist opinion is needed
A private medical opinion is not mandatory, and not every file needs one. It is justified when it adds what the existing file does not say: when the documentation describes the illness but not the extent of functional impairment, when there is a genuine professional dispute about the diagnosis, or when a causal link between work and the condition must be shown.
When the medical file speaks for itself, a further opinion is an expense that does not change the outcome, and a fair representative says so in advance. More on when an opinion is decisive and when it is unnecessary can be found on our page on the medical opinion in disability claims.
Four mistakes that recur at committees
The mistakes that lead to low percentages are not the mistakes of careless people. They are the mistakes of people who did not know what was being examined.
- Arriving with a partial file, assuming the committee will fill the gap. The committee decides on what is before it.
- Describing pain instead of limitation. “It hurts a lot” is not measurable; “I cannot raise my arm above shoulder height” is.
- Signing the protocol without reading it. The signature confirms these are the complaints, and everything omitted disappears from the file.
- Behaving in contradiction to the complaint. The committee observes the claimant from the moment of entry, and conduct that contradicts the complaint is recorded.
A practical, detailed set of preparation points, tip by tip, is gathered on our page on preparing for the medical committee.
In summary
In summary, the medical committee sets the disability percentage under section 118 of the law and the list of impairments in the regulations, and the claimant has an explicit right to be represented there by a lawyer. Representation consists of matching the file to the impairment items, ordering the complaints, checking the protocol before signing, and building the objection from the protocol within 60 days. Fees are capped by law.
The complexity is that the committee does not examine suffering but correspondence: between finding and item, between complaint and record, between description and conduct. A lawyer who knows the list of impairments knows in advance what the committee will look for, and that is the difference between a file that arrives prepared and a file that arrives full.
If you have been summoned to a medical committee, or have received a decision that does not reflect your condition, contact us with the summons or the protocol and the medical documents, and we will tell you frankly what is missing and what can be done.
What comes up most about the medical committee
Can I bring a lawyer into the committee?
Yes. The National Insurance Institute states explicitly that the claimant may bring an accompanying person and has the right to be represented by a lawyer. The representative may address the committee, ask for complaints to be recorded and comment on the impairment item.
Who sits on the committee?
In general disability, one physician specialising in the field of the impairment and a session secretary. Someone who has complained of several impairments may be examined by several physicians. In work injury, medical adjudicators who are not Institute employees sit on the committee.
How long does the committee take?
Usually a few minutes. The physician reviews the file, listens to the complaints, decides whether to examine, and records. The short time is the reason the order of complaints and documents is set in advance.
What should I check in the protocol before signing?
That every complaint has been recorded in full, that every document submitted is mentioned, and that the examination performed, or not performed, is documented. The signature confirms these are your complaints, and what was omitted will not exist at the objection stage.
The committee set a low percentage. What now?
In general disability, anyone assessed below 80% may object to a medical appeals committee within 60 days. The objection is built from the protocol: what was not examined, what was not recorded, and which impairment item was not applied. The appeals committee is appealed to the court on a point of law only.
How much does representation cost?
In most claims against the National Insurance Institute, fees are capped by law: a file-opening fee of up to ILS 961 (as of 1 January 2026) and a percentage of the benefit paid only once it begins. You will hear the exact percentage in your case in the first conversation.
All department pages
General disability · Committees and appeals
General disability claimFibromyalgiaBenefits overviewRepresentation at the medical committeePreparing for the medical committeeObjections and appealsMedical opinionSummoned to a medical committee?
Send us the summons and the medical documents. We will check what is missing from the file against the impairment items, and tell you what to expect in the room.