Work Injury Insurance in The Palestinian Labor Law

The focal point of this research paper is work injury insurance in accordance with the Palestinian Labor Law no. 7 of 2000. In fact, this law guarantees the rights of the injured employees to claim monetary compensations. The said law obligates the employers to seek insurance contracts for their employees in one of the insurance companies working in Palestine. Accordingly, this provision decrees an important guarantee for the injured employee during the period of work. Further, the said law has imposed penalties on the employer who fails to fulfill this requirement without giving much  detail on the consequences of this failure. It should be noted that this insurance, provided by the employers, does not relieve or waive the employers from their responsibility for compensating the worker in case of injury. That is, the said law offers two privileges to the workers; the workers receive compensation for the injuries resulted from work from both the employer and the insurance company, whether individually or jointly, and both the employer and the insurance company are also committed to compensate for the injuries caused by a third party (other than the worker and the employee). It is worth mentioning that this responsibility does not affect the liability of the third party to compensate within the general rules on tort. Anyhow, the responsibility of the insurance company remains restricted to the terms of the contract signed with the employer. However, the employer’s liability is still governed by the provisions of the labor law. It should be noted that any delay or inaction by the employer in notifying the insurance company on any injury does not affect the right of the worker to get compensated. This right may, however, be affected by the time of limitation prescribed by the law vis-à-vis the employer and/or the insurance company.