Compensation from Karnit: when there is no insurer to sue
Where the driver at fault flees, where there is no valid compulsory insurance, or where the insurer is in liquidation, the injured party has no insurer to sue. Section 12 of the law places that role on the fund for the compensation of road accident victims - Karnit - which steps into the shoes of the insurer.
What the fund is and why it was established
Section 10 of the Road Accident Victims Compensation Law, 5735-1975, states briefly that a fund for the compensation of road accident victims is hereby established. This is the fund known publicly as Karnit.
The reasoning behind it is straightforward. The law imposes absolute liability to compensate road accident victims, and compensation is usually paid by the compulsory insurer of the vehicle involved. But there are situations in which there is no insurer to sue - and without the fund the injured party would be left with no address, despite being entitled to compensation.
Source: Road Accident Victims Compensation Law, 5735-1975, section 10.
When the fund is approached
Section 12 defines the role of the fund: to compensate an injured party who is entitled to compensation under the law but has no insurer from whom compensation can be claimed.
The section lists the situations in which this applies:
- The responsible driver is unknown - the typical hit and run situation.
- There is no insurance cover - where the vehicle involved had no valid compulsory insurance, or the policy does not cover the use that was made of it.
- The insurer is in liquidation - where the insurance company that should have paid has ceased to function.
In each of these situations the fund steps into the shoes of the insurer. Entitlement itself is examined under the same rules set out in the law, not under a separate test.
Source: Road Accident Victims Compensation Law, section 12.
Hit and run: the common situation
A significant share of approaches to the fund concern accidents in which the vehicle at fault left the scene. Pedestrians and cyclists are particularly exposed to this.
Where the identity of the driver is unknown, there is no insurance company to which the claim can be directed. That is precisely the first situation in section 12, and the fund is the address.
In practice, a great deal in cases of this kind rests on documentation: a report to the police, obtaining medical treatment close to the event, and locating witnesses and cameras near the scene. These are the materials that later establish that the accident occurred and the extent of the injury.
What the compensation covers
The fund pays on the same scope on which an insurer would have paid. Section 2(a) of the law speaks of bodily injury, and that is therefore also the limit of compensation from the fund.
Damage to property - to a vehicle, a bicycle or personal belongings - is not claimed on this track. It is examined under property insurance or in an ordinary tort claim in which liability must be proved.
Because the whole track rests on bodily injury, most of the work on a case is concentrated on the medical and functional foundation of the injury: treatment records, the determination of disability, and its effects on function and on earning capacity.
Source: Road Accident Victims Compensation Law, section 2(a).
Who is not entitled
Approaching the fund does not bypass the conditions of entitlement in the law. Section 12 speaks of an injured party who is entitled to compensation under this law, so the grounds of denial in section 7 apply here as well.
Section 7 lists, among others:
- A person who caused the accident intentionally.
- A person who drove the vehicle in breach of the law concerning use of a vehicle without permission.
- A person who drove without a licence to drive that vehicle, other than a licence that lapsed solely for non-payment of a fee.
- A person for whom the vehicle served, or assisted, in the commission of a felony.
- A person who drove the vehicle where the vehicle had no valid compulsory insurance, or where the policy did not cover the use made of the vehicle.
- The owner of the vehicle, or the person in possession of it, who permitted another to drive it without valid compulsory insurance.
The ground of denial for absence of insurance is the most significant in practice, because it highlights a point easily missed: the absolute liability in section 2 does not depend on insurance, but the entitlement of the driver personally does. A driver who drove without valid compulsory insurance may find themselves outside the track, while a passenger or pedestrian injured in the same accident is directed to the fund.
Here too the right of the dependants of an injured person is preserved, subject to the conditions of the section. The list of grounds is updated by legislative amendment, so the current text must be checked in each case.
Source: Road Accident Victims Compensation Law, section 7.
Recourse: what happens after payment
Section 9 of the law sets out the rule that a person who paid compensation under the law generally has no right of recourse against another person liable to compensate under that same law. The section then qualifies the rule and provides exceptions.
Those exceptions are directed mainly at two groups: persons whose entitlement the law denies under section 7, and persons who did not hold the required insurance cover.
The practical meaning for the injured party is that payment by the fund is not the end of the story as regards the responsible party, but it is the end of the story as regards the injured party: the fund pays, and the account with the responsible party is settled afterwards, not at the expense of the person injured.
Source: Road Accident Victims Compensation Law, section 9.
In summary
Section 10 of the Road Accident Victims Compensation Law established the fund for the compensation of road accident victims, known as Karnit. Section 12 defines its role: to compensate an injured party entitled to compensation who has no insurer to sue - where the driver is unknown, where there is no insurance cover, or where the insurer is in liquidation. Compensation is for bodily injury, within the limits of section 2(a), and subject to the grounds of denial in section 7. Section 9 governs recourse after payment.
In these cases, and especially in hit and run accidents, the outcome rests on documentation and on the medical foundation of the injury. The earlier that material is gathered, the easier it is to establish the claim.
If you were injured in an accident in which the driver fled, or where it emerged that there was no insurance, contact us and we will review the facts, the track and the first step together.
The questions that come up most
The driver who hit me fled the scene. Is there anyone to turn to?
What happens when the vehicle at fault had no compulsory insurance?
Can compensation also be obtained for damage to the vehicle?
Is every injured person entitled to approach the fund?
All pages in this practice
Defamation · Road accidents · Medical negligence
Defamation Claims: The GuideDefamationRoad Accident Compensation LawMaking a Road Accident ClaimFatal Road AccidentsCompensation from KarnitLiability and Burden of ProofMedical Malpractice ClaimsThe Medical OpinionInformed ConsentPrinciples of liability · Work accidents
Joint TortfeasorsAbsolute LiabilityCompensation for a Work AccidentWork disability claimOccupational diseaseMicrotrauma injuryCommuting the disability pensionNo insurer to sue?
Tell us what happened, what was documented and your medical position. We will examine whether the route to the fund is open and what the first step is.